Infatuation
by televisiondiva
Summary: Hermione becomes Severus's apprentice, but someone else has bigger plans. Eventual HG/SS pairing. Yes, I finally updated!
1. Chapter 1 First Day Back

_Disclaimer: I DO NOT own these characters, nor do I claim to. They are the property of JKR. I'm just using them for my own hysterical fantasy world.

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**Chapter 1 - First Day Back  
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She stalked down the familiar corridors and closed her eyes, memorizing the scent of the dusty velvet drapes that hung heavy over the massive cathedral style windows. It had only been a few short hours since she first boarded the train, but it seemed like everything was moving in slow motion. Hermione soaked in the soft clicks her flats made down the cold stone hallway, and tried to ignore the heavy weight on her heart reminding her that this was finally happening...her last year at Hogwarts. She slowly opened her eyes just in time to see Draco Malfoy sprinting around the corner, slamming right into her. The collision caused her to drop her schoolbag, sending all of its contents sailing across the stone floor. Hermione quickly dropped to her knees and scrambled to pick things up - tossing everything haphazardly back into her bag.

"Outta my way filthy mudblood," Malfoy sneered at her as he trudged passed the mess.

"Stupid prat," Hermione muttered under her breath and continued filling her bag. She reached for her charms book when a soft hand brushed the top of her own.

"Here. I believe this is yours." Hermione looked up to see a slight framed girl holding her book. She had green eyes and red hair, but not the same copper shade as Ron and Ginny's. Instead, it reminded her of deep red roses with flecks of gold.

"Oh, yes, thank you." She took the book from her and dropped it in her bag and tilted her head questioningly at the girl.

"I'm Fiona." The rosey headed girl extended her hand, smiling.

"Hermione," she replied, allowing Fiona to help her to her feet. Hermione did a quick survey of the area to make sure she had gathered all of her belongings and had them safely stowed away. She turned back to the girl. "Thank you for helping me. As Head Girl I am at liberty to award you house points. I think five points are in order for...Ravenclaw." Hermione smiled as she recognized the blue and bronze tie around Fiona's neck.

"Thank you," she shook her head. "It was nothing really. I saw how Draco Malfoy plowed right into you. I just thought you could use some help." She looked down the corridor over Hermione's shoulder. "I wonder where he's off to in such a hurry anyway?"

"With Malfoy it's hard telling." Hermione hefted her bag onto her shoulder and sighed. "I'm beginning to think that the only thing that will make me happy to leave Hogwarts is knowing that I won't have to see Malfoy anymore." She felt in her bag for her wand, making sure she hadn't lost it in the commotion. Satisfied that it was safely stowed, she started to walk away. "Sorry to shove off like this, but I really must get going, or I'll be late for Potions."

"Oh you certainly wouldn't want to be late on the first day of class. Snape's likely to pop a vein."

Hermione shrugged. "He's not so bad. If you stay on his good side. Which is why I really need to get moving."

"Do you mind if I walk with you? I don't have any classes for another hour." Fiona raised her eyebrows in a soft plea.

Hermione smiled. "As long as you can walk fast."

Fiona nodded assuredly and the two girls made their way down the long corridor toward the dungeons. As they walked, they talked about how strange it was to be on top of the food chain as seventh year students. When they finally reached the entrance to the dungeons, Hermione noticed she had a couple minutes to spare. She looked into the classroom, slowly filling with students and let out a sigh. She suddenly remembered with a pang that it was the first day of her last year here.

"I take it you're sad about leaving, too." Fiona looked down at her feet. "I've been struggling with the idea all day. My mum doesn't understand how I could be so depressed about the idea of actually approaching my last year at school. Of course, she never attended here, so I guess she wouldn't."

"Is your mother a muggle?" Hermione asked softly.

"Yes," she said with some resignation. "Mum's a muggle, Dad's a squib. Who knew they'd ever produce a witch?" She said throwing her hands in the air, mocking her idea of society's reaction.

"Well it's certainly nothing to be ashamed of," Hermione reprimanded. "I happen to be born from two muggle parents."

"No. No. Sorry. No, I'm not ashamed of it," Fiona stammered. "It's just that certain..._people_...well they look at me as a sort of abomination."

"If by _people_ you mean the Malfoy family," Hermione said sternly, "then stop thinking about it. That vile family is loaded with abominations." Hermione shot a look at Draco, who was already seated in Potions class next to his two co-horts Crabbe and Goyle. "Besides, no one in this school could give two sickles about what any of that lot thinks."

Fiona put on a faint smile and shrugged. Hermione noticed the massive marble clock near the entrance of the dungeon.

"I had better get going. Snape will be here any second." She hurried toward her seat. Before she sat down she turned back and said, "thank you again for your help."

The green-eyed girl waved in response and turned, exiting the dungeons. Hermione took her seat next to Harry and pulled out her Potions text.

"Who was that?" Harry asked, reaching for his own Potions book.

"I think she said her name was Fiona. She's a seventh year Ravenclaw. I've never really talked to her before, but I know I've seen her around," she explained as she inked her quill. "She helped me pick up my things when Malfoy knocked me on the floor a little bit ago."

"Malfoy did what?" Harry said through gritted teeth. A flicker of fury glinted across his face. "I'll kill him."

"Relax, Harry," she chided. "I think he was in such a hurry to be 'star pupil' for Professor Snape, that he didn't see me standing right in front of him." She glared in Malfoy's direction. He saw her and sneered, she stuck her tongue out at him.

"What has Malfoy done now?" Harry and Hermione turned to hear a familiar voice. Ron Weasley had just slid into his seat.

"Nothing out of the usual," Hermione reassured him. "Cutting it a little close today? Snape should be here any..."

The door at the front of the classroom flew open and Snape stomped in, cloak billowing around him like a dark cloud. He paused and eyed the members of his class. His eyes flicked from side to side, all the while his face remained utterly motionless.

"I see my seventh year class is much smaller than I had anticipated. Pity, really," he drawled, "as I have saved all of the best potions for this year."

Malfoy's face lit up as he greedily nudged Crabbe and Goyle. Snape stalked toward the platinum headed boy's table. He glared down at the two giant oafs flanking another.

"I assume, Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle, that you each have earned the proper O.W.L. scores to be in my class. However, I think it best that you not sit with Mr. Malfoy this year, as I expect my students to listen and learn during our hours together, and most assuredly that will not happen if you three continue to sit with one another."

Snape motioned toward two empty seats at the back of the room. Goyle and Crabbe reluctantly took their belongings and moved. Ron looked at Harry and gulped. He knew their cheeky threesome would be broken up next. Sure enough, Snape set his gaze upon their table and spoke.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, and Mr. Weasley. The Golden Trio, as it were." He skulked toward them. "Not in my classroom." He conjured a third chair at the table where Crabbe and Goyle were now seated. "Mr. Potter, I believe there is a place for you at the back." He looked back over at Malfoy's table. "Mr. Weasley you may take your place next to Mr. Malfoy and you, Miss Granger, shall remain where you are. I imagine you will fair much better without your two sidekicks."

Satisfied with the new seating chart, Snape made his way back to the front of the classroom. He surveyed the layout one last time before quickly turning on his heel and striding to the blackboard. He tapped his wand on it twice, causing a small piece of chalk to start scrawling what seemed like a very complicated potion on the slate.

"This year I expect nothing more than perfection," he started. "Each of you has proven to the board at Hogwarts that you are competent enough to study advanced potion making. I, however, am not convinced. Each day, I will give you a potion assignment on the board and at the end of class I expect it to be completed."

He made individual eye contact with each and every student.

"I will not tolerate cheating of any kind and as such, anyone who dares to test my limits as they were tested last year, will pray for me to lay an unforgivable curse upon them, for my punishment," he said narrowing his eyes, "...will be far worse."

As he finished his yearly warning, the chalk that was scrawling on the board seated itself back into the tray.

"On the board you will find ingredients for the antrigalus potion. It's a vital medicinal treatment for anyone suffering from a blistering high fever. It is my hope that there will be enough acceptable specimens produced from this class to help Madame Pomfrey replenish her stores. The incantation is quite difficult, so those of you who have trouble speaking the English language," he glared at Crabbe and Goyle, "I advise you find someone near you to speak the incantation instead." Snape surveyed the room once more. "You have 50 minutes. Begin."

At once, all the students began crushing herbs with their pestles and measuring out small bits of powder into their cauldrons. Hermione tied her hair back and got down to business. It may have been her last year at school, but she certainly wasn't going to slack off now. She reached for a flat blade to skin the root from a gillyweed and accidentally knocked over a small jar of blue powder. She wasn't sure what the powder was, but it started a small fire on the table. Before she could grab something to put it out, the flame snuffed it self with a light 'poof'. Hermione cocked her head to one side and furrowed her brows. _What on earth was that?_ Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt Snape looming over her.

"Are you trying to burn down my classroom, Miss Granger?" Snape waited for her response.

"N...n...no sir," she stammered. "I was just reaching for...and I...knocked over...and then, flames, and poof!" She looked up at him and bit her lip. "I'm sorry Professor, but what was that?"

"That, Miss Granger, is the essence of flame. If you have ever looked into a fire, you will notice a blue ring around the white-hot center. The blue flame in powdered form makes it much easier to transport, and ignites as soon as it is expelled from its container. It is also quite handy for lighting a fire under cauldrons." He shot a sideways glance at her. "Unless of course, you spill it before you can use it."

"I'm sorry, Professor."

"Lucky for you , Miss Granger, it's flame burns out quickly, much like a match. No harm done," and with that he walked away.

Hermione was shocked. Snape neither punished nor embarrassed her. Well, he hadn't embarrassed her in the way he normally would have. He hadn't even deducted precious house points. She thought on it no further, however, because there were only 30 minutes remaining and she had a long way to go.

Later that afternoon, Hermione agreed to meet with Ron and Harry in the Great Hall for their first lunch together of the school year. As usual, Ron piled a heaping amount of food onto his plate before anyone else could even survey the spread. Harry grabbed a sandwich and goblet of water.

"What is this? On a diet, mate?" Ron said incredulously. "Trying to watch the girlish figure, eh?"

"Sod off, Weasley. I happen to be eating healthier these days. It never hurts to be in shape with all the goings on in this place." Harry took a bite of his sandwich.

"Bloody hell, we haven't even been through our first lunch together, and Mr. Doom and Gloom over here is already talking about You Know Who," Ron said sulking.

"I'm just saying, it doesn't hurt to be prepared."

"Prepared? By eating a sandwich? Honestly, Harry, I think you are off your nut."

"Off my nut? Well at least I'm not an overgrown..."

"BOYS!" Hermione shouted. "Enough! I've got enough on my mind as it is, I certainly don't need to listen to you two bicker like an old married couple."

"What's got your knickers in such a twist, Herm?" Ron said through a mouthful of potato crisps.

"I'll bet she's still sore from Potions class this morning," Harry muttered to Ron.

"Yeah, that was pretty awful," Ron said. "What with the fire and then..."

Hermione glared at both boys.

"You know...I can hear you."

"Sorry Herm. But hey! You should be happy! Snape didn't even yell when you spilled your potion all over his robes," Ron offered cheerfully.

"Yeah," Hermione said morosely.

"Well, you have to admit, that is a little odd for Snape," Harry agreed. "If that had been me, he surely would have given me detention for the rest of the school year."

"I guess so. I just felt like such an idiot. I think I would have rather him punish me. Instead he just gave that 'disappointed' face. You know, like the one my Mum always gives me when I do something she doesn't approve of. Ugh, it's bloody awful!"

Hermione poked at her food with a fork and stared into her plate. What was wrong with her? She'd never been such a bumbler in class before. She needed to get some rest.

"I don't feel very hungry. I think I may go up to my room and lie down." Without waiting for a response from Ron or Harry, she gathered her things and headed off to the Head Girl's dormitory.

Before she head back to her dorm, she stopped in the library for a book to help her relax. When she finally rounded the corner to the Gryffindor common room, she saw a familiar figure standing before the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Young Lady, if you do not know the password, I'm afraid I cannot let you inside. Now please! You are interrupting my afternoon nap." The portrait shut her eyes and began to snore rather obnoxiously.

Hermione approached the portrait hole and realized that it was Fiona standing there. Fiona turned to see Hermione and smiled brightly.

"Oh thank goodness! I've been looking for you. Your two friends, in the Great Hall, said that you came up here to lay down, but this lousy bird," she jerked her head toward the Fat Lady, "wouldn't let me pass."

"Yeah, she can be a bit stubborn. I've been in the library." Hermione eyed the portrait. "Besides, by now, you should have known you couldn't get passed her."

"Well anything is worth trying," Fiona said with an odd twinkle in her eye.

Hermione looked at her quizzically. "What did you need me for?"

"Well, I've heard from a lot of students, that you are very clever witch...and I need your help with something."

Hermione listened and couldn't believe her ears. No one had ever asked her to do anything like this before. Ever.


	2. Chapter 2 Exanimare Captivum Incalesco

_Disclaimer: I DO NOT own these characters, nor do I claim to. They are the property of JKR. I'm just using them for my own hysterical fantasy world. (well I own ALL of Fiona :)_

_*note: I've rewritten this chapter. For those who read the story before you'll notice it's different. I hated this chapter and it's part of the reason I never finished the story. I feel like I can move past the block with this chapter revamped.  
_

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**Chapter 2 - Exanimare Captivum Incalesco**

"So, let me get this straight," Hermione started. "You want me to help you with a love spell to use on a..._a teacher_?" She climbed through the portrait hole. "I'm sorry Fiona, but I'm afraid I can't. I'm Head Girl after all."

"It would only be for just a few hours." Fiona followed Hermione into the Gryffindor common room. "You know, a quick charm, rather. Not really a full blown _spell._"

"I don't understand."

"Look, all I'm asking is that...," she broke off. Three fourth years had joined them in the common room.

Hermione looked nervously at the students and leaned in to whisper to Fiona. "Perhaps we should talk about this in my room."

Fiona nodded and the two girls made their way to the Head Girl's chambers. Once inside Fiona continued her plea.

"Hermione, I know it sounds odd, but it's really harmless. I just need to make Professor Trelawney fall temporarily in love with my project. I'm miserable at Divination and I just thought that if she _loved_ my Dream Journal Interpretations project, then when the spell eventually wore off, she'd at least _like_ it."

Hermione looked dumbfounded and, after several seconds of staring, started to giggle.

"What? What is so funny?"

"Fiona, Professor Trelawney doesn't need to be tricked into liking your project."

"But..."

"I have a better idea. Why don't you let me look at what you've got and I can help you improve your work."

"I don't know. Somehow I think the spell would be easier. You haven't seen my work," Fiona shrugged.

"Try me." Hermione smiled broadly as the green-eyed girl reached into her book bag.

Fiona produced a dark purple leather bound journal. There was a beautiful Celtic symbol etched into cover. Hermione reached for it.

"Our assignment was to keep the journal over our summer holiday. She wants it on the first day of class, which is tomorrow." Fiona rocked back and forth on her ankles. "Do you think we can work on it together later tonight?"

Hermione flipped through the pages and nodded.

"Why don't you let me keep this for now, and I will look it over on my free time between classes. After dinner tonight, you can meet me here and we'll work on the project together." She scanned the pages quickly. "I must say, so far, it looks quite good. I really think you have nothing to worry about."

"Well, I should get going. Lunch will be over soon and I need to get ready for Herbology." Fiona walked toward the door. Before leaving, she turned back and said, "Thank you, Hermione. I really appreciate it. I...I don't have many friends." With that, she left.

Hermione felt sorry for the girl who had just left her room. She could sense a deep loneliness in her. Flipping through the journal again, she felt a twinge of guilt. In her hands she held a summer's worth of dreams belonging to a complete stranger. She closed the journal and slipped it into her book bag with a sigh. Hefting the now heavier load onto her shoulder, she left her chambers and headed towards her first Transfiguration class of the year.

Promptly after dinner, Hermione made her way to the portrait hole to wait for Fiona. When she reached the Fat Lady, she decided to make small talk.

"How are you this evening, Ma'am?"

The Fat Lady bustled slightly and then responded. "I'm well," eyeing her suspiciously.

"That's wonderful to hear." Hermione, realizing the conversation was going nowhere turned away from the portrait and looked toward the staircase. After a couple of minutes, she saw someone approaching wearing a brilliant green sweater. When the figure came into view, she realized it was Fiona.

"Sorry I'm late. The staircase I was on suddenly shifted just as I was about to reach Gryffindor Tower. I had to wait for another staircase to come along before I could get back on track." Her cheeks were slightly flushed and Hermione could tell she had run to get there.

"Don't worry. We have a good three hours before curfew. Besides, I've only been waiting here a few minutes." She turned back to the Fat Lady and clearly spoke, "firefly moonbeam."

"It's about time, I thought you'd never leave me alone, " the Fat Lady spat as the portrait flung open. Hermione sniffed in disgust.

Once inside her chambers, Hermione offered Fiona a chair and a cup of piping hot tea.

"That's a beautiful sweater," she said, taking a seat across from her. "Perhaps you should have been in Slytherin. Green is really your color." She laughed lightly.

Fiona rolled her eyes & replied, "You sound like my Mum. I think she got a bit carried away with making me wear the Irish national colors as a kid, so almost every ruddy dress I had was green." She sipped her tea. "So what's the verdict on the journal?"

"Well, I finished reading it while I was eating dinner and honestly, it really didn't need much work. I'm sure Trelawney will be pleased with it. However, I did make a few notes here and there, just as suggestions." She handed the leather journal back to Fiona. "I can't believe you actually wanted to perform a spell before giving this to her. You're more worried about class work than me!"

"I just feel like I'm invisible in her class. She never calls on me or asks to see my tea leaves. She hardly even notices that I'm even there. I just thought that...that if I turned in something that she thought was truly brilliant, I would finally exist." Fiona lifted her head and her eyes met Hermione's. "Do you have any idea what it feels like to not exist?"

Hermione took her hand. "Fiona, you do exist. You're a wonderful person and you are brilliant. Besides, have you seen Trelawney's glasses? That woman can't see two feet in front of her!"

Fiona gave a faint smile but it quickly faded. She looked down at her hand, still in Hermione's. A spark flamed behind Fiona's bright green eyes as she looked deep into the brown eyes across from her. Very quietly she started to mutter something under her breath.

"Exanimare captivum incalesco. Exanimare captivum incalesco." Fiona muttered the words so quietly, Hermione hadn't even heard her. "Exanimare captivum incalesco."

Not taking her eyes away from Hermione, Fiona took her other hand into her own. She stood, pulling the Head Girl to her feet and guided her to the small window. Without saying a word, Hermione raised her hand to Fiona's face. She stroked her cheek and then traced her finger along her bottom lip.

"Exanimare captivum incalesco," Fiona whispered one last time and Hermione closed her eyes. After a moment, she slowly opened her them. She was overcome with an ethereal sensation and completely lost thought of who she was or what was happening. Without knowing was she was doing, she reached her hand out to touch a strand of Fiona's hair.

"You're hair...it's so, so," Hermione stroked her fire-like locks, "soft...and perfect...and...and... so red."

Her eyes grew increasingly glassy as she spoke. She felt dreamy and detached from realism. Gliding a crimson strand between her fingers, Hermione shuddered; the green eyed witch before her was radiating a delusive energy from every region of her body. Hermione circled slowly behind her, still touching her hair.

When Fiona finally spoke, it was like Hermione was hearing her from another world.

"You know what they say." With a face of stone, Fiona turned to look at her. "Red is the color of lust..."

She took a mass of Hermione's curls into her fist and yanked her forward, brushing her lips against the dazed girl's cheek.

"...blood..."

Her voice, raw and dangerous, was barely audible. She looked into Hermione's glazed eyes, leaned forward and bit her on her bottom lip, drawing blood. Hermione stifled a scream.

"...and pain."

Fiona leaned forward and tasted the blood on Hermione's lips. Hermione's body went rigid. Fiona yanked her hair harder and sucked on Hermione's bottom lip until her vision went black.

Through a thick fog she felt the need to jerk back. Fiona's eyes flickered like a wild animal; her chest heaving. She took Hermione's hand into her own and pressed against her cheek.

"Don't be scared," she whispered. "I'm not going to hurt you..." Her eyes dropped to the slight trickle of blood pooling on Hermione's lip. "...again."

Hermione stared into Fiona's eyes not believing what was happening. She felt like she was in a thick fog and the only visible monument was the woman standing in front of her. Fiona looked like a foreign body, something Hermione had never seen before. Her hair was like flames, strewn about her face. Her eyes, deep and heavy, searched Hermione's. She closed her eyes completely unaware of the icy cold that slowly filled her fingertips.

Slowly, the cloud in Hermione's mind began to evaporate and she felt very cold. She lazily fanned her fingers in front of her face, watching the slight trail they made.

Then suddenly, as though she were doused with ice water, Hermione sprang forward and gasped for breath. Fiona was gone and Hermione was alone in the dark.

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Here is the latin translation for the spell Fiona used:**  
**_exanimare to take away the breath of , to wind, stun, weaken  
captivum captured , taken  
incalesco to glow , become warm or passionate_


	3. Chapter 3 Awake

_Disclaimer: I DO NOT own these characters, nor do I claim to. They are the property of JKR. I'm just using them for my own hysterical fantasy world. (well I own ALL of Fiona :)_

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**Chapter 3 - Awake**

Hermione blinked her eyes several times in the blackness of her chambers. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she scanned the room around her. Fiona was no longer there. _How odd, _ she thought, pulling the covers of her bed more tightly around her. _I could swear she was just here._ Hermione struggled to remember what had just happen, but her memory was hazy at best. She recalled Fiona coming to her room to retrieve her dream journal...she remembered feeling a slight pity for her soon after, and she remembered..._what did she remember? _

Feeling her face, she noticed her fingertips were freezing cold. She had an odd sensation tremoring through her body that made her almost nauseous. It was far too dark in her room to see the small clock on her desk, so she called for her wand.

"Accio wand." A familiar wooden object seated itself into her open palm and she squeezed it tightly, happy to feel something real between her icy fingers. "Lumos," a beam of light radiated out of the tip of her wand. Hermione swept the light over her desk and glanced at the tiny hands on the clock. Squinting, she muttered to herself, "4:48? What on earth?" She pulled the bed clothes off her legs and placed her feet on the stone floor.

"Ahhh..." she groaned when she tried to stand. Her legs felt like jelly and her her entire body felt sore. She slowly made her away across the room to examine the clock more closely. After picking it up, she shook it furiously, sure that something was wrong with it. The steady tick of the second hand assured her that it was working just fine. She placed it lightly back on the desk and headed for the washroom. Using her wand, she lit the overhead sconces. Light flooded the small bathroom, allowing Hermione to see her reflection in the mirror. She spotted a small scab on her bottom lip. She furrowed her brow and tasted it with the tip of her tongue. The cut tasted metallic and was very sore. Bringing her hand to her face, she touched the wound vaguely recalling that Fiona had...had what? Had _bitten her?_ But why? Surely not, she must be wrong. She shut her eyelids tightly, begging her memory to reveal more, but nothing came. Everything was so fuzzy and it hurt to think anymore about it. She opened her eyes, placed both hands on the wash basin and stared at herself in the mirror. Something had changed, but Hermione had no idea what it was. She decided she would talk to the boys about it at breakfast, but now she really needed to get back to sleep. Sliding back between the covers she marveled at how cold she had become. She gathered as much of the blankets she could, settled in, and slowly drifted back to sleep.

Sunlight streaked throught the heavy velvet curtains covering the windows in the head girl's chambers. Hermione's eyes fluttered open against the light. She sat forward on the bed and made her way into the bathroom. She showered quickly, got dressed, and did a quick charm to dry her unruly hair. Again, she spotted the small mark on her lip and wondered just exactly how it had gotten there. Several voices resounded up the staircase and through the door. The Gryffindor common room was buzzing with students heading down to breakfast. Hermione gathered her things and headed down toward the common room to see if Harry and Ron had gone down to the Great Hall yet. She rounded the corner and saw Harry standing downstairs by the fireplace. Waving, she ran down the stairs to catch up with him.

"Hey Hermione, I was beginning to think you weren't coming down," Harry said smiling.

"Sorry, I woke up a little late this morning," Hermione said staring into the fire. Her eyes met Harry's. "I...I had a bit of a strange night."

"What do you mean?" Harry inquired.

"Nevermind, it's nothing. I'll tell you about it later." She grabbed Harry's elbow and pulled him toward the portrait hole. "Let's head to the Great Hall, I'm famished."

"I'll say!" Harry and Hermione turned and saw Ron coming toward them. "It looks like you already tried to eat your own mouth."

Hermione raised her hand to her face and touched the mysterious sore on her lip. "Oh, yeah, um, I'm not really sure how I got that. Crookshanks must have scratched me or something lastnight." She knew that wasn't true, however, because Crookshanks had never once scratched her since she had owned him. "We'd better get going, or we will miss breakfast."

Ron shrugged and with that, the three of them started off toward the Great Hall together.

The morning feast was nothing out of the ordinary. Ron and Harry gabbed endlessly about the best way to fight off bludgers while flying their brooms one-handed. Hermione rolled her eyes and tuned them out. The sound of hundreds of owls screaching and flapping their wings filled the space overhead. A beautiful tawny dropped this morning's issue of the Daily Prophet in front of Hermione's plate of eggs and toast. She slid off the ribbon and smoothed out the parchment. The headline read:

**Ministry Fails Again **

Hermione scowled. Rita Skeeter was long gone from writing articles for the Daily Prophet, yet the reporters there still knew that scandals sold the most papers. She scanned the article and realized it was about the peace conference with the Goblin community. Apparently, George Fitzwalter, Head of The Department of Inter-Magical Species Relations failed to please the Goblin Council at their last meeting and as a result lost his left ear, his right pinky-finger, and a both of his eyebrows. The picture was not very wonderful to look at, as it showed Fitzwalter crying quite hysterically, pawing at the spot where his left ear should have been. The site made Hermione lose her appetite. She re-rolled the parchment and shoved it into her school bag.

"Did the prophet say anything good today?" Ron asked, again with his mouthful.

"Nothing out of the oridinary, I'm afraid. Just more blunders within the Minstry of Magic." Hermione leaned toward Ron. "You know, you're father should really consider retiring. He's far too nice to be involved with all of their rediculousness."

"Why do you think Percy fits in so well, " Ron sulked. "He thinks he'll be bloody Minster before he turns 25. I told him he'd be lucky if Fred and George let him live to see 23!"

"How are Fred and George doing anyway?" Harry chimed in. "I haven't heard from them all summer. Is the shop going well?"

"Lucky for them, yes. Mum still pretends that this is just a phase their going through, but she certainly can't deny that they are making a lot of money. Just last week, they bought her a fancy new dress, with lace and everything." He stabbed a strawberry with his fork. "I think she looks like a big yellow chicken in it, though."

Both boys erupted into laughter. Hermione opened her mouth to scold them when she spotted a familar mane of red hair standing across from her.

"F-Fiona," Hermione stammered. "H-how are you doing?" For some reason the sight of her made Hermione's insides twist.

"Quite well, thank you." Fiona eyed Ron and Harry anxiously, then craned her head closer to Hermione. "Can I talk you for a second..." She glanced at the boys again, "...alone?"

"Oh. Of...of course." Hermione set her napkin on the table and grabbed her bag. Standing, she turned to the boys and said, "I'll see you later in Potions." Ron, still stuffing his face, nodded, half paying attention and Harry gave a small wave. She followed Fiona into the entrance hall.

Fiona started to speak but spotted the small cut on Hermione's lip. Before she could say anything, Hermione covered her bottom lip and spoke.

"I...I think I bit my lip last night." Hermione noticed Fiona's concerned expression relax a little.

"Oh, right. I was going to say, that's a nasty little mark you've got there." Fiona began chewing on her own lip.

"Yeah, it's nothing really. I just wish it would go away so people would stop staring. So what is it that you needed?

Fiona looked confused for a moment, shook her head, and then smiled.

"Oh, I was just heading down to Divination, and was wondering if you had any last minute suggestions about my dream journal." Fiona reached into her bag and pulled out the purple book, handing it to Hermione.

"Did you make the changes I suggested?" She flipped throught the pages.

"Yes. All of them, in fact. Do you think it looks good enough to hand in?"

Hermione closed the cover and handed the book back to Fiona. "It's absolutely fine, Fiona. Honestly, I don't see what you are so worried about. That old toad will love it, I'm sure." Anyone who knew Hermione well, was quite aware that Professor Trelawney was for from being her favorite teacher. "Trust me. You have nothing to worry about."

A loud bell sounded through the hallways alerting the castle that it was now 8:00am. Fiona slid the journal back in her bag and smiled.

"Thank you, Hermione. I've got to get going. Divination starts in 10 minutes." She turned quickly, red hair swishing behind her. Hermione watched her walk down the hallway with an odd feeling in her stomach. There was something strange about that girl, but she had no idea why she thought that. Her thoughts drifted back to the bustling hallway and she remembered she had Double Potions in less than 5 minutes. She started off into a sprint toward the dungeons. Two hours with Snape would certainly be enough to take her mind off of the strange morning she was having. In fact, two hours with that overgown bat would be enough to numb her mind for the rest of the day. When Hermione reached the dungeons, she sighed and sunk into her lone seat at the front of the class. Snape slammed the door shut, announcing his presence and stalked toward Hermione's desk.

He loomed foward and sternly spoke. "Miss Granger, you are to remain after class today. Is that clear?" His face was stern and sharp. She had no idea what she could have done to deserve this.

"I said, is that clear?" His features darkened. Hermione nodded nervously and sunk further down in her seat. "Good."

Snape stomped to the front of his desk and started in on the lesson. Hermione didn't seem to hear a single word he said after that.

* * *

_Are you still with me? Hang in there! It's just starting to get good! You can email me with suggestions and feedback at Leave a review if you wish! I certainly appreciate reading them :)  
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	4. Chapter 4 Potions Class

_Disclaimer: I DO NOT own these characters, nor do I claim to. They are the property of JKR. I'm just using them for my own hysterical fantasy world._

_

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_**Chapter 4 - Potions Class**_  
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Potions class seemed to drag on much longer than usual. Hermione hated being separted from Harry and Ron. Every now and then she would look at each of them and raise her eyebrows miserably. She knew she was the luckiest of the three. Malfoy kept levitating small bits of paper in Ron's hair when Snape wasn't looking (not that he would have done anything to stop it) and Harry looked positively squished between Crabbe and Goyle. She sighed to herself and rested her chin on her hand as she copied down the notes off the board. Today Snape was lecturing on poisons and their various antedotes, something Hermione already knew backwards and forwards. She had read all seven books the school had on poisons and antedotes, afterall. Two of which, she had read twice.

She checked her watch. Forty-five minutes remaining. Lecture days were the worst. At least on the days they actually got to _create_ a potion, time went by much more quickly. Then it hit her. _That's it_, she thought. _He's going to punish me for being such a klutz in class yesterday._ Her stomach started to twist. She should have known it was too good to be true when he let her off so easily before. She hadn't spilled the _entire_ contents of her potions bottle down his robes, it was just a small bit really. Oh, and the flame incident...but it hadn't done any _real_ damage. Just a small fire that quickly snuffed itself. He couldn't punish her _too_ badly. Right? _Oh who am I kidding_, she thought to herself. _He's going to kill me._

After what seemed like an eternity, the bell finally sounded and the students began scuffling about the classroom, tossing books and quills into their bags, hurridly making their paths to the door. Snape went out the side door that led to his chambers. Harry and Ron rounded on Hermione.

"What does Snape want you to stay after for?" Harry questioned.

"I'm not sure. My best guess is that he's going to punish me for yesterday's little mishaps." Hermione looked crestfallen.

"Are you still going to Herbology, then?" Ron chimed in.

"I suppose. I don't know how long he's going to force me to sit here." She picked at the hem of her robes.

"Sprout's showing us how to grow our own Venus Flytraps. They make excellent pets. Fred and George had one once...it tried to eat Scabbers."

Both Harry and Hermione stared at Ron as if he were mental.

"What? It did! Really, I wish it would have, knowing what I know now!" Ron was, of course, referring to the fact that Scabbers was actually Wormtail, Voldemort's horrible minion.

"C'mon Ron, you're beginning to sound like Hagrid. We'd better go." Harry tugged on Ron's shoulder, pulling him to the door. He turned back to Hermione. "We'll see you later on?"

She nodded sourly.

"Right then," Harry said firmly. "Don't let him get to you."

She watched as Harry and Ron disappeared through the dungeon door and saw Snape glide back into the room, taking a seat at his desk. He picked up his quill and began scrawling furiously on a long piece of parchment spread across the table. He had not seemed to notice Hermione was still in the room. She took a deep breath, stood up, smoothed her skirt, and approached his desk. He didn't acknowledge her approach.

"Professor...you...you wanted to see me?" She asked meekly. He continued scrawling away with his quill.

"Miss Granger, I will address you when I am through. Please take your seat." His eyes never left the parchment. She probably could have escaped without him even noticing.

"It's just that..." she swallowed hard. "I...I have Herbology in 10 minutes...and..." Snape cut her off. Disgusted, he lay down his quill and finally looked up at her.

"I am well aware of your time contraints, Miss Granger. I have already spoken to Professor Sprout and_ she_ is well aware that you are remaining after class today." He closed his eyes, picked up his quill and began writing again. Without looking up he said, "now please take your seat."

Hermione slowly returned to her desk, scowling. She sat low in her seat and dug her heals into the stone floor with her arms firmly crossed against her chest. _Vile, good-for-nothing vulture_ she thought to herself. She narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth, mentally begging her mouth not to open and say something she would later regret.

For lack of something better to do, she surveyed the items in the room. She'd been in this room many times under Harry's Invisibility Cloak searching for elusive ingredients they had needed thoughout their days here. She recalled all of the trouble they had gotten into _every single year. _A barely visible smile cracked across her lips as she sat quietly reminiscing. Over in the corner, she saw a tall locked cabinet. That's where she had nicked some boomslang skin in their second year to make polyjuice potion. Her eyes flitted over to the wall of jars containing odd items. She was grateful she wasn't stuck stocking those containers. Snape usually kept Harry after for detentions to do that sort of thing. Growing irritated with Snape's rude behavior, she sighed deeply. Snape looked up from his writings and glowered at her.

"Miss Granger, that will be enough."

"So I can leave?" She asked perking up.

"No. I meant, that would be enough of your dramatic display of displeasure." He stood and crossed in front of his desk. He saw the expression that she might shoot daggers from her eyes currently occupying Hermione's face.

"I had other things to attend to. I, however, am now ready to speak to you." He placed the quill he was still holding behind him on the desk.

"Professor...I..."

"Miss Granger, do not interrupt me when I am speaking." She shut her mouth so quickly, her teeth clacked together. Snape continued. "Yesterday I asked the class to do a rather difficult potion. I quite honestly had no hope for anyone in this room to actually turn out a usable specimen. In truth, I only picked that particular potion to see if any students would drop the class...a way to weed out the weak, if you will."

Hermione swallowed hard, suddenly aware of a horrible lump in her throat. _Here it comes_, she thought. _He's going to tell me off._ She wanted so badly to speak up, but knew better after he had already scolded her for it earlier.

"So, " Snape kept going. "I was in no bit of surprise when I began testing the potions after class had finished. I saw some pretty awful concoctions stoppered in each of those bottles. Frankly, I was afraid to touch some of it."

He reached inside his robes and produced a small vile from his pocket. It was half empty. Hermione recognized it immediately as her own. Her stomach lurched slightly.

"Then I got to this bottle." He removed the stopper and sniffed the contents lightly. "It is absolute perfection. It's the right color, the right scent, and," he touched the top of the bottle and tasted the small drop on his finger, "it's the right taste. Miss Granger, this is an exceptional specimen." Snape closed his eyes. "Unfortunately, the majority of it is currently being worked of my robes by house elves." He opened his eyes and scowled at her.

"Professor...I'm sor...sorry. It was an accident." Hermione felt like banging her head against the desk. She dreaded whatever he would say next. She knew it couldn't be pleasant.

"Yes...an accident. If I didn't already know how much you hate receiving bad marks, I would swear that Potter had put you up to it."

"No sir. I would never..."

"No, Miss Granger, of course you wouldn't." He went back to his desk and rummaged through a stack of papers laying on the corner. He produced a small piece of parchment, no bigger than an index card, and walked over to where Hermione was sitting. He handed her the paper. It was a list of ingredients for a potion that cured step throat. She looked up at him questioningly.

"I want you to begin mixing this potion immediately. I will time your work and test the potion when you are through. You are not to ask for help and you are not to leave this room until you have completed it. Is that clear?" Snape raised an eyebrow sternly.

Hermione only nodded. She was speechless. He hadn't killed her. Heck, he hadn't even _yelled_ at her. She watched him walk back to his desk. Afraid to move, she just sat in her seat. Snape looked at her.

"Miss Granger...I haven't got all day," Snape said sharply. "Please get started!"

As if someone had lifted her out of the chair, she rose to her feet and headed toward the stocked shelves. She read the card in her hand and ticked off each item with her quill as she gathered the ingredients. When she had reached for the powdered Unicorn's Hoove, she realized there wasn't nearly enough in the jar to complete the potion. _I'm not to ask for help, _she thought to herself, but how was she supposed to do the potion? It's not like she could run to Hogsmeade and buy any! She wasn't allowed to leave the room! She decided asking for more ingredients was not the same thing as asking for help. She turned back to Snape.

"Sorry, Professor, but there doesn't seem to be enough powdered Unicorn's Hoove. Where shall I find more?" She silently prayed that he wouldn't admonish her for asking the question. Snape raised his wand, causing Hermione to flinch, however he had just used it to fling open the tall locked cabinet where Hermione had stolen the boomslang skin just five years ago.

"There's some in there." His words were short and stern. Hermione decided at that point, no matter what, she was not going to ask him anything else until she was done.

She crossed the room and took the extra jar of powdered Unicorn's Hoove and returned to her desk. She had all the potions neatly lined up in front of her. The cauldron was already bubbling furiously with ordinary water. She decreased the heat and began adding the necessary portions of each ingredient into it. The brewing process took about fifteen minutes of rapid stirring. Hermione's arm began to grow sore, but she kept on churning the viscous green fluid, counting the bubbles that rose to the top. When she counted the fortieth bubble, she removed the cauldron from the heat and let it sit for a moment. The green liquid smoothed at the surface and slowly, as it cooled, turned deep blue. Hermione muttered the incantation quietly as she poured the final ingredient into the cauldron. The creamy blue fluid turned into a crytsaline clear blue and became still. She touched the edge of the cauldron to see if it was cold. It was. _Relief!_ She thought to herself. She picked up a small vile and dipped it into the cauldron, filling it to the top with the fresh potion. She smelled it to make sure it was just right, and then shoved a thick cork stopper into the bottle.

Hermione decided to clean up her area before giving Snape the potion. After she was certain everything was tidy, she finally approached his desk. Once again, he spoke, without looking up at her.

"Miss Granger, I believe I said that you were not to ask for help." He continued grading papers.

"But, Professor, I've finished." He cinched his brows and look up at her quickly. Spying the potion bottle in her hand, he rudely ripped it from her fingers.

"Let me see," he said shrewdly. He unstoppered the bottle and smelled the potion. He then held it up to the light to check that the color was right. Then, with the slightest amount of caution, he tasted it, as he had tasted Hermione's Antrigalous potion earlier. The slash between his eyebrows smoothed, and...could it be? A small, teeny, tiny smiled moved across his lips...but as quick as it came, it was gone. Hermione, however, was sure she saw it. Finally, Snape spoke. "Not bad, Miss Granger. Not bad at all."

Hermione shifted her legs slightly, and marveled at the compliment she just received.

"Thank you, Professor." She scolded herself internally for wanting to ask her next question, but she just _had_ to know. She approached with apprehension. "Professor...might I...that is, would it be okay if...I..."

"Get on with it, Miss Granger," he said impatiently.

"I just wanted to ask why you had me do this potion. Can you tell me?"

"That's a very valid question," he said thoughtfully. "The truth is, I'm terribly behind this year, since I have been teaching both Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions. Normally, I help Madame Pomfrey keep her medical stores full during the school year, but as it is, I cannot continue to replenish her supplies. All of the ruddy halfwits running around this school can't seem to keep themselves healthy." He shook his head.

"But why me?"

"Well I would think that a smart girl like you, " he said scathingly, "would be able to figure that much out."

Realization skirted across Hermione's face.

"Oh. I see. I was the only one who made the Antrigalus potion correctly." She bit down on her lip.

"I have already spoken with Dumbledore. He was the one who suggested that I give you an equally difficult potion to conquer today, and that, if you were successful...you were to become, " he cringed slightly, "...my apprentice."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Professor, I can't possibly...I mean I'm busy enough as it is!"

"Dumbledore has assured me that he will take care of everything." He rounded on her. "Look, Miss Granger, I am as displeased as you are about this situation. However, the fact remains, Madame Pomfrey _needs_ those potions, and frankly, I cannot keep up! If it's any constellation, you will receive apprentice credits for your work, which will greatly improve your chances of getting accepted into university."

Hermione thought quietly to herself. Apprentice credits...well she certainly couldn't argue with that. After all, that's the main reason she was working hard at Hogwarts in the first place. Perhaps, she _could_ lighten her load just a wee bit to accomodate this change of events and she could _really use_ those apprentice points. She took a deep breath and looked Snape straight in the eye.

"Fine. When do I start?"

* * *

_How am I doing so far? This is my first time! Thanks so much for the feedback so far! Let me know what you think! Is it gripping enough for you? If not, tell me! _

_P.S. I'm updating as fast as I can! You can email me at with any feedback or suggestions :)  
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	5. Chapter 5 The Contract

_Disclaimer: I DO NOT own these characters, nor do I claim to. They are the property of JKR. I'm just using them for my own hysterical fantasy world. (Except for Fiona, she's mine:))_

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When Hermione finally reached the greenhouse, she saw a mass of students leaving in a hurry. Class had just finished. She decided to wait around for the boys, although she knew they would be full of questions that she most certainly _did not_ want to answer. She saw Ron exit the greenhouse sucking on his finger, followed closely by Harry who had a bandage on the tip of his nose. Both looked extremely irritated.

"Oooh they make _great_ pets!" Harry said mockingly to Ron, smacking him on the back of the head. "The bloody thing tried to eat my face!"

"How do you think I feel, mate? It damned near took off my finger!" Ron's face crumpled as he examined the wound on his finger. He turned a sickening shade of green.

"Now I'm feeling a bit less upset about missing class." Ron and Harry both jumped back at the sound of Hermione's voice behind them.

"Don't _do_ that Hermione! We're wounded men," Ron pleaded. "I think I may have to go see Madame Pomfrey. I'm sure she has some sort of potion for Venus Fly..."

"No!" Hermione yelped, interrupting Ron. He and Harry gaped at her. "I...I mean, it can't really be all _that_ bad. I'm sure Madame Pomfrey has plenty of students to deal with right now. Let me see if I can fix it up for you." She grabbed Ron's hand. She couldn't risk him wasting Madame Pomfrey's potion stores now that _she_ would be making them personally. The more she had to make, the more time she would have to sit working side by side with Snape. She shook the thought out of her head,

"Hermione..." Ron said slowly. "I really think I should just go see Pomfrey, she has loads of different concoctions she can put together for me."

"Ron, she needn't waste her potions on you!" Hermione said sharply. "Now, look. This isn't so bad." She pulled out her wand and said, "_Suo suere sui sutum_!" The wound seemed to stitch itself together and mend shut. Hermione looked up. "See? Good as new. Harry, now how about your nose?"

Harry hastily covered his bandaged nose with his hand. Hermione was acting strangely and since he was already plagued with one scar on his face, he didn't really have the urge to gain another.

"It's okay, Hermione. It's just a scratch, really." Harry was searching his brain for something to say to change the subject, while Ron marveled at his newly healed finger, hooking it up and down.

"Whoa, how did you learn to do _that?_" Ron asked in amazement.

"Honestly! Don't you boys _ever_ pay attention? We learned that spell in the Magical First Aid seminar second year!" Hermione looked positively annoyed. Ron and Harry shot each other furtive glances.

"So what did Professor Snape want?" Harry remembered to ask. "Did he yell at you for class yesterday?"

Hermione scowled and looked at her feet. "Yeah. I have to serve detention every night next week." She knew it wasn't fair telling a lie to the boys, but it was much easier than explaning why she would be away during the nights they usually spent studying together.

"That lousy git, " Ron grumbled. "You're the best student is his class, and yet he still punishes you! I'm surprised he didn't deduct any house points. Wait. He didn't, did he?"

"No. Fortunately, he didn't punish the entire Gryffindor house...just me." Hermione sulked silently and started off toward the castle.

Harry clapped a hand around her shoulder and kept in walking pace with her. He wanted to tell her not to worry about Snape, but he knew that wouldn't make her feel any better, so he resolved just to walk with her back to the common room without saying a word. Ron, watching Harry, followed suit by attaching himself to her other shoulder and the three of them walked through the giant doors together.

When the three of them reached the staircase that led to the Gryffindor common room, they turned when they heard a girl's voice behind them.

"Oy! Hermione!" Fiona was waving wildly from across the hall. "Come here for a moment!"

Hermione broke away from the boys and walked over to Fiona. She began to smile for the first time in more than three hours.

"Hey. How did Divination class go with Trelawney? Did you hand in your journal?"

"Excellent! Fiona beamed. "In fact, it was _more_ than excellent! It was bloody terrific! She even read passages aloud to the class! She loved it!"

"That's wonderful, Fiona! I told you it would be just fine."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I could _not_ have done it without you, Hermione." Fiona threw her arms around her and squeezed so hard, Hermione wasn't sure if she could breathe.

"Y...y..you're welcome," Hermione said in a strangled voice.

"OH!" Fiona released her. "Sorry! I forget my own strength sometimes. I was just so excited. Where are you headed now?"

"Well, the boys and I were headed up to the common room to study, and then I have Charms after lunch."

"Oh. Okay." Fiona said flatly. "Would you mind maybe helping me with some research in the library later this evening?"

"What were you planning to research?"

"Oh you know, just some mundane school work." Fiona look nervously at her watch. "Well, I'd better get going, I have Transfiguration in a few minutes. I'll meet you at 8:30, then? Bye!"

Hermione opened her mouth to answer, but Fiona was already running off in the opposite direction. Harry and Ron were busy gabbing about something near the stairs, missing the entire exchange between her and Fiona. She suddenly became aware of the small sore on her lip again, and chewed on it lightly as she rejoined the boys.

"What was her name again?" Ron asked as they climbed the stairs.

"Fiona. She's in Ravenclaw, seventh year." Hermione said non-chalantly.

"Oh. She's really pretty. Can't believe I've never noticed her before. I wouldn't be surprised if she was related to me, with the red hair and all."

"Oh that's all we need," Harry said, laughing. "_Another_ Weasley running the halls of Hogwarts."

Hermione giggled.

The rest of the afternoon passed without incident. After study time, the three ate lunch in the Great Hall and talked about the upcoming weekend in Hogsmeade which had just been posted. They plotted out which places they would vist first and devised a way to place a ward on the entrance to the Three Broomsticks in order to keep Malfoy out. They couldn't wait to try it. Charms class was also quite enjoyable. Professor Flitwick had taught the students how to charm ordinary objects into musical instruments. Hermione had mastered charming a copper teakettle into a lovely sounding flute each time the steam would erupt from the spout. Ron wasn't having as much luck, however. He tried to charm a broom into playing like a cello, but instead the sound was much closer to someone scraping a fork across a blackboard. Harry settled upon two cauldrons that were charmed to sound like booming timpani drums. It was quite amusing, although Hermione secretly wished she had learned how to conjure ear plugs out of thin air.

Transfigurations went quite smoothly, as well, which was surprising since the seventh year Gryffindors and Slytherins were in the same class. It was the only time where Gryffindor could actually make up for house points lost during Snape's class. McGonagall could be just as shrewd when it came to playing that game. In fact, Malfoy had cost the Slytherin's forty points for refusing to share a rabbit with Hermione. He said he'd rather fail than transfigure an animal with the aid of a mudblood. Professor McGonagall pursed her lips and assured him that failure could certainly be arranged, if he wished it so. Hermione beamed silently at the remark, thinking to herself, _if only Malfoy knew this "mudblood" would be working along side his very own head of house_. Suddenly the prospect of being Snape's apprentice didn't sound so bad afterall.

When dinner time finally rolled around, Hermione resolved to skip eating in leu of studying. She pretty much felt like she had to meet Fiona in the library at 8:00, so decided to use her meal time to get caught up on homework. She wasn't feeling very hungry anyway. When she reached for her Potions book, she gave out an unconcious groan. _Perhaps I should save this assignment for last,_ she thought to herself, reaching instead for her arithmancy text. The time flew by quickly as she worked quietly by herself and before she knew it, it was a quarter to eight. She put her things back in her room and made her way toward the library.

Halfway down the corridor to the library she ran into Professor Snape. He stood, blocking her path, glaring down at her.

"Miss Granger, why is it that you were absent in the Great Hall for dinner this evening?"

"I was in my room studying," she said, taken aback. "Why?"

"I have been looking for you, because I have some paperwork I need you to fill out immediately." He handed her two parchment scrolls, both were quite thick. "I thought about giving them to Potter or Weasley, but I realized that I actually wanted these scrolls to reach you. No doubt those dunderheads would have lost them."

Hermione unrolled the first scroll and scanned it quickly. She looked up. "What is all of this?"

"It's a contract, Miss Granger. Dumbledore has suggested that we put down in writing that you are to be my _apprentice,"_ again saying the word as if it caused him great pain. "...so that the Ministry will approve of your receiving university credit. It's all a load nonsense, if you ask me, but Dumbledore insists."

Hermione unrolled the second scroll and scowled. Was all of this really necessary? The Ministry of Magic was nothing but a bunch of fools anyway, why even bother with this? She rolled them both back up and returned her attention to Snape.

"When do I need to have these completed?"

"You are to bring them by my office no later than 9:00 this evening."

"But Professor, that's in an hour, and I have to meet someone in the libr..."

"_No later than 9:00, Miss Granger!"_ Snape spat. He narrowed his eyes menacingly and walked past her toward the dungeons.

Hermione balled her fists, crumpling the scrolls and snorted loudly. _Greasy git_, she thought. _If he thinks I'm a thorn in his side now, he hasn't seen anything yet!_ She plopped down on the floor and began re-reading the scrolls more carefully. It was extremely complicated and redundant. Somehow going to meet Fiona seemed to be the last thing on Hermione's mind.

In fact, she had been so put off by Snape's rude behavior, that she completely forgot about the red-headed girl in the library who had been eagerly awaiting her new friend to show...

* * *

_Hmm...methinks Fiona's not going to be a happy camper!_

_Thanks for the Reviews so far everyone! Keep 'em coming. It helps me to guage what you like and what you don't. Remember, you can email at if you have comments, thoughts, or concerns:)  
_


	6. Chapter 6 Snape's Office

_Disclaimer: I DO NOT own these characters, nor do I claim to. They are the property of JKR. I'm just using them for my own hysterical fantasy world. (Except for Fiona, she's mine:))_

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Around five minutes to nine, Hermione had at last completed putting her last signature on the scrolls. She had never seen so many "X" lines on any document in her life. She noticed that Snape had already signed every area as well, except one. She re-read the line above it and realized it said that she would only be awarded apprentice credit upon completion of the outlined course. Hmph. She'd already signed that line, but apparently Snape wasn't going to sign it until he was completely satisfied with her work. _It figures_, she thought to herself. _I'll probably bust my arse everynight with that overgrown bat and he can still weasel out of giving me credit for it._

With a huff, she re-rolled the scrolls and reluctantly made her way down to the dungeons. Unfortunately, in her present state of irritation, she failed to see the brilliant green eyes that were spying on her from behind a marble pillar in the corridor...and _had_ been doing so for close to an hour.

Hermione hated the dungeons. They smelled of mildew and she found the torches that lit the walls to be a bit archaic. Going down to a Potions lesson during the daytime amidst a crowd of students was one thing, but traipsing about alone after dark was quite another. She shuddered slightly at the sound the heels of her shoes made as she clacked down the poorly lit corridor. Snape's office was two more doors down. She hesitated after she passed the first door, and then came to a halting stop has she reached the second. She held her fist up to knock, then pulled it away from the door quickly. Her palms were sweating. _Why am I so intimidated by him? Good grief, it's not like he's going kill me. I don't...think._ She shook her head. She was being stupid. She raised her hand to knock again when she heard a voice on the other side of the door.

"Honestly, Miss Granger, are you going to come in or aren't you? Because, according to my clock, it's 9:00."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. _How on earth does he know I am out here?_ She grabbed the handle and pushed her way into Snape's office, mentally preparing herself for the site. She glanced around.

It wasn't anything like she had pictured. She was fairly certain that there would have been students' heads on pikes and disgusting things in jars scattered about the shelves. However, the room laid out before her looked more like a cozy study. It was _nothing_ like the Potions classroom.

There were four tall bookcases lined with thick books; spines of several different colors. In the corner, a massive marble globe stood on four brass legs. Each continent was made from a different color sapphire. It had an eerie, yet breathtaking glow emanating from within it. She saw two very large oil paintings with muted gold frames hanging on two facing walls. One was of a brilliant landscape with three horses - one white, one black, and one silver - grazing in a soft and lush meadow. The painting was magical, but the horses were quite ordinary. The other painting depicted a young woman dressed in red robes working on a potion. She appeared to be in deep thought. Hermione recognized this painting as_ Circe, The Sorceress_. It was painted by a muggle, but was highly revered in both the muggle and wizarding worlds. The fact that it hung on Professor Snape's walls is what shocked Hermione most.

Snape sat at his desk (which was a beatifully carved mahogany - much different from the black slate table in his classroom) working on something. Instead of his normal bat-like costume, he was dressed in a black button dress shirt and black pants. The top three buttons of his shirt were undone. His hair hung over his face as he worked, but somehow he looked less intimidating than Hermione had remembered. _So, this is how Snape looks in his own element_, she mused to herself. He looked up at her, and for the first time since she had known him, he wasn't scowling.

"Did you sign every line?" His tone contained no acid, instead it was just a simple question.

"Yes." Hermione replied simply and went to hand him the scrolls when she remembered that _he_ hadn't signed every last line. "However, you seemed to have missed one." She unrolled the scroll and pointed to the empty line, where his signature should have been.

"No. That was no mistake. I'm not able to sign that until you have completed the school term." Again, his voice was straight foward, without any sort of severity.

"But, Professor, honestly, we both know this is just red tape for the Ministry of Mag..." He stopped her.

"Miss Granger, the scroll clearly states that I am only to sign _once you have completed your school term_." His voice had started to gain a slight edge. "Until then, the line shall remain _empty."_

"Why did**_ I _**have to sign it then?"

"Simply to prove that you understand how it all will work." Snape could see the scowl growing behind Hermione's expression. She balled her fists and began to pace in front of his desk, saying nothing. Snape watched her in light amusement. He hadn't even tried to anger her, yet he had, which made him smile - on the inside. After a moment, he spoke. "Miss Granger, what are you doing?"

She turned on him and glared.

"Professor, I...I'm trying my absolute hardest to keep from saying something I may well regret." She crossed her arms firmly across her chest and glowered at him.

"I suppose I don't understand then. What seems to be the problem?" He leaned foward on his elbows and rested his chin on his fists. This was all really too amusing. He hadn't counted on a getting a show tonight.

"Don't be glib!" She said hotly. "You know exactly what I'm talking about!"

"I'm afraid I don't," he said lazily.

Hermione was fed up. It took everything in her power not to reach across that desk and knock his face off his elbows.

"How am I supposed to know that you're going to follow though on your part of the bargain? How do I know you aren't going to make me work my tail off, just to have you refuse to sign at the end of term? Goodness knows you aren't the most honorable man in this school, how can I trust you?" She firmly sat herself in the chair opposite his desk. It was quite cozy, which was yet another surprise in this strangely normal office.

Snape laughed. Yes. He _actually_ laughed. Even though it threw her off guard, it only proved to infuriate her all the more.

"_What_ is so funny?" She asked sharply.

"Miss Granger, I assure you that this..erm..._arrangement, _is in no way set-up to take my revenge out on the Gryffindors. It is strictly business."

"Strictly business, huh? Well then, give me your word that if I do precisely as I am told, that you will not withhold that which I derserve. Namely, your signature on that scroll."

"You have my word."

Hermione studied his expression for a moment and decided that he must have been serious. She had never seen such a look on the man's face before. He was almost smiling. _Almost._

She let out a short breath and decided she had many, many more questions.

"Okay then. How about a schedule? So far, we've only decided that I am to work with you three nights out of the week. Which nights will these be and at what time and for how long?"

"Seeing as how I don't have any engagements during my evenings, I will leave that up to your discretion."

Hermione shut her eyes tightly to think. A few times she stuck out a few fingers, mentally ticking off a list in her mind. She opened her eyes and looked at Snape. For some odd reason, she felt no fear of this man at all. The man that sat before her was not the man who taught her potions. Not even close. _So, he wants strictly business...fine. I will show him how business prudent I can be._ She leaned foward ready to strike.

"Absolutely no weekends. Those are mine. My class schedule is quite full, but I feel that Monday's, Wednesday's and Thursday's should work. Since the evening meal in the great hall begins at 7:00, we could begin at 8:00. How long do you think you will be needing my assitance each night?"

"That will depend entirely upon the potion we are working on. Some medicinal potions can be brewed in a matter of minutes, while others could take up to four hours."

"Four hours!" Hermione half screamed.

"Yes, Miss Granger, _four hours_. It is on those nights that I would suggest that we take our meals down here." He stopped for a moment and then continued. "That is...if you don't think I am being too unfair." He added the last bit just to spite her, and she knew it.

Deciding not to rock the boat any more than she already had she shook her head.

"No. That is quite fair and probably necessary."

Awkward silence filled the office and Hermione occupied herself by looking around the room. She felt the need to leave, but she also felt like she should be dismissed by Snape. She turned her gaze back to him and gave an expectant look. He had been watching her survey the room.

"Surprised?" He asked bemusedly.

"A little." Hermione said sheepishly.

"Believe it or not, I do enjoy nice things."

Hermione said nothing in response. Instead she just studied the cracks in the stone floor. She fought the urge to ask if she could be excused.

"Well, being as tomorrow is Wednesday, I suggest you get yourself ready for our first lesson." Snape said matter-of-factly.

"Lesson?"

"Yes, Miss Granger. I intend to _teach_ you the potion before we actually brew it." He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh yes...of course...sorry." She checked her watch. "I should probably go now. Just enough time to study and then head off to bed."

"You found the door on the way in, I'm sure you can find it on the way out," Snape said waving a hand toward the entrance.

Hermione stood up and walked toward the door when she realized she had another question.

"Professor..." She began. "How is it that you knew I was standing outside your door earlier?"

"Quite simple, actually. I have security wards to make sure no dunderheaded students try to weasel their way into my office. I could simply see through the door." He waved his wand and she saw the hallway appear through the door. It was quite clever. Perhaps if she hung around him enough he could teach her how to apply that feature to her own door. _That_ could come in handy.

Even with all those thoughts in her said she simply replied with an, "oh" and then turned and walked out the door.

The whole experience was a little unnerving. She had had a _conversation_ with Professor Severus Snape. It was somewhat civil and didn't end in her losing any house points. Was this how working with him three nights a week would be? Or would he be the unbearable bastard he was during class? Hermione hoped for the former, because _that_ is something she could actually bear. She walked hastily through the corridors, ready to be away from the dark, damp dungeons. She was almost to the staircase when she felt a blinding pain streak through her head. Lurching forward, she grabbed the railing on the stairs. Another pain shot through her, this time sending a blinding white light across her vision. She tried to scream, but couldn't find her voice. A final sharp pain sliced through her and she collapsed on the stairs...unconscious.

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A/N: I added the white horse in the painting for "the-amazing-color-brown" in response to your review. _

_Keep the reviews coming! They are what motivate me to keep writing! Thanks for you support so far:) _

_To view the painting of the girl hanging on Snape's wall, visit:  
www. johnwilliamwaterhouse . com / paintings / painting1413.aspx (remove the spaces)  
Circe (The Sorceress)  
Painting Date: 1911  
Location: Peter Nahum At The Leicester Galleries, London, England_


	7. Chapter 7 A Matter of Trust

_Disclaimer: I DO NOT own these characters, nor do I claim to. They are the property of JKR. I'm just using them for my own hysterical fantasy world. (Except for Fiona, she's mine:))_

_A/N: Now before this turns into a flame-fest...YES, I know it's a short chapter, but I really think it was time we got to see inside Snape's head for a moment. I didn't want to tie it in with another chapter, because I really felt that it should stand alone. That being said, I will update with Chapter 8 as soon as possible! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. I really appreciate them and read them all (in fact I check like a fanatic to see what people think! I need a life! Haha!) Anyway...enjoy some Snape. You know you want to._

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After Hermione left his office, Snape sat quietly watching her walk away through the security enchanted door. He'd underestimated the girl...yes...immensley underestimated the girl. He laid back in his chair and rubbed his hand on his chin, thoughtfully. He really had no idea what he'd gotten himself into, but he was sure he was going to find out soon enough. 

Carefully, he replayed their conversation in his head. One phrase seemed to sting him in a way he really couldn't understand. Why should he care what she thinks? She's a bloody student, and a know-it-all at that. However, the words played over and over in his mind:

_Goodness knows you aren't the most honorable  
man in this school, how can I trust you?_

How dare she accuse him of not being honorable. Just because he loathed idiotic students, did _not_ mean he wasn't honorable. If only the girl _knew_ just how much he'd done for this ruddy school and for the wizarding community as a whole, she'd change her tune, she would! He shook his head and stood up.

"...tell me _I'm_ not honorable..." he muttered to himself. "I'll _show_ her honorable."

Snape walked to the bookshelf nearest his desk and pulled down a large brown leather-bound text. The cover read: _Medical Maladies and their Healing Potions_. He'd decided to plan out tomorrow evening's lesson to take his mind off of things.

He cracked the spine and resumed his seat behind the great mahogany desk. He'd managed to read the table of contents when his brain beganning playing its own soundtrack again.

_How can I trust you?_

The words kept repeating themselves in his head.

_How can I trust you?_

Snape slammed the book shut and let out a heavy breath. He stood up again and began pacing in front of the fire, ranting to himself like a madman.

"Trust? She wants to know about trust? Ha! That's a laugh, a bloody laugh. I play double agent between Voldemort and Dumbledore. I save Potter's life, _time after time after time!_ I show up for my classes every single day, hour after hour, to deal with students who can barely tie their own shoes so that I may stay loyal to Dumbledore, and _she has the audacity to ask me about trust!_" His voice had grown very shaky. He had hoped the talking aloud would deafen the broken record in his head. It didn't.

"Oh, bugger this!" He grabbed a tiny potions bottle off the shelf lining the mantle. It was a sleeping draught, which he drank happily. When he finished, he tossed the empty bottle into the fire dramatically, quite pleased with himself. He brought out his wand, muttered "nox" and the lights in his office were immediately extinguised. The only light in the room was coming from the fire. Snape settled himself down on the couch facing the hearth and decided to sleep there tonight. He wasn't sure if he could make it over to the door leading to his chambers after drinking the potion, even though it was only a few feet away.

Determined to get some rest, he closed his eyes and slowly started to relax. Amidst drifting off to sleep, he felt a pang low in his stomach telling him something was wrong...terribly wrong, but before he could think about it, the potion had pulled him into a deep sleep.

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_A/N: Obi Wan, I sense a disturbance in the force! (Don't forget to let me know what you think with a review! Constructive criticism welcome!)  
_


	8. Chapter 8 The Accusation

_Disclaimer: I DO NOT own these characters, nor do I claim to. They are the property of JKR. I'm just using them for my own hysterical fantasy world. well I own ALL of Fiona, actually :)_

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Hermione awoke to the feeling that a brick had been bashed against her skull repeatedly. She instinctively felt the back of her head to check to see if she was bleeding. Everything felt normal...although it seemed as though her eyes were permantly crossed. She shook her head a couple of times in order to regain her focus. Everything was blurry, and she wasn't quite sure where she was, until her sense of smell clued her in. She was still in the dungeons, but...something was wrong. The last thing Hermione remembered was grabbing the railing on the stairs, but as she examined her surroundings, she realized she was actually in a room. She'd never seen the room before, but was quite sure, that yes, it was still in the dungeons. She was leaned up against a damp stone wall that faced a large door. She tried to think, but thinking hurt..._really, really hurt_. She closed her eyes and held her forehead in her hand, noticing that her fingers were icy against her burning head. For once, she understood how miserable that wretched scar on Harry's head had to be. She could feel her pulse pounding behind her eyeballs and prayed that when she re-opened them, she would discover she was having an awful dream.

Scratch that.

Nightmare.

She slowly opened one eye...only to find, with a sinking feeling, that nothing had changed. Hermione surmised that she was in some sort of storeroom. She decided she had to get up and get out of there fast. Self-preservation was key. She could sort out her jumbled memory later. Pulling herself to her feet, she noticed that beneath her robes her sweater had a large tear down the side. She must have ripped it on the railing when she collapsed. Her legs felt wobbly and her head seared with pain as she tried to walk. She swallowed hard, determined to make it to the door across the room. It was a heavy wooden monster, that took every ounce of strength she had to open, but she had somehow managed to do it and broke free into the corridor. She recognized at once where she was. She was only one door down from Snape's office. This was quite a long distance from the stairs. Whoever had brought her to this room, must have carried her, because her clothing showed no signs of being dragged.

Hermione, for the second time that evening, made her way to the staircase. The moment she touched the railing, a disgusting sensation filled her entire body. She had never felt anything so awful in her entire life. The feeling consumed her and before she could stop it, she vomited all over her robes. Although she certainly didn't enjoy throwing up on herself, she did acknowledge the fact that it had gotten rid of the horrible sensation that previously inhabited her. She stripped off the desecrated robes and balled them up, careful not to get any on her. She didn't dare attempt a cleaning charm, for she feared the concentration of it would rip her throbbing head apart. She'd worry about it later. All she wanted now was her bed.

When at last she reached her rooms, she changed into her night clothes and crawled into bed. Her head was still pounding, but not nearly as badly. Either that, or she had simply grown used to it. She made a mental note that if her head didn't feel any better than this tomorrow, she would be sure to ask Professor Snape how to brew a headache potion in their lesson tomorrow evening. She would also be sure to ask if he had any idea what could have happened to her in the corrid...

Hermione shot up in her bed, then yelped at the pain it caused. An angry thought had streaked across her mind. A thought that made her very insides turn to fire. She had a sneaking suspicion who had dropped her in that room tonight and it made her blood **boil.**

_"Snape," _she speculated to herself._ "...and to think...I was beginning to trust that greasy son of a bitch."_

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The next morning at breakfast, Hermione decided to tell the boys about what had happened. She, of course, dreading telling the truth about her decision to become Snape's apprentice, edited the story slightly. She instead opted to tell them that she had gone to his office to discuss her detention arrangements. The rest of the story, however, followed suit with the actual events of the prior evening. The boys sat quiet for a bit before saying a word. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Ron finally spoke.

"So what you're telling us is...you think Snape..._cursed you _in the corridor?" He had a horrified look on his face. "Hermione, are you sure?"

"I don't know, Hermione," Harry started. "I mean, I realize he's an awful person, but he's a _teacher_ for Merlin's sake! Cursing a student, especially on school grounds, is just...just...well it's just not likely."

Hermione glared at both boys. She had always listened to their half-witted tales, and now they dared to question her?

"Well how else would you explain it? I had a discussion where I admit, I said things I shouldn't have said. I then left and walked down the hall toward the stairs, when something..._or someone,"_ she stressed the words for the boys' sake. "...from behind me knocked me to my feet and continued cursing me until I was no longer conscious! When I awoke, I was in a room in the dungeons...not on the stairs where I passed out."

"But what makes you think Snape did it?" Harry asked, desperately hoping he wasn't making her more angry.

"Who else could have done it? Besides, I was obviously carried into the room, because my clothes were not dirty, proving I was not dragged. Someone had to be strong enough to carry me in there, and I hardly think another student could have carried me all that way." Hermione was satisfied that she had proved her case.

"Hermione, anyone could have carried you in there," Harry said. "Are you sure Malfoy wasn't hiding down there somewhere? He's certainly strong enough to carry you and even more likely to curse you from behind your back."

Hermione considered it for a moment. Maybe Snape and Malfoy were in on it together. Possibly Malfoy had learned of her apprenticeship and payed a visit to Snape. The two devised a plan to lure her downstairs to hand in the contracts, meanwhile allowing Malfoy to get his revenge on the Mudblood who didn't deserve to study under his honorable Head of House.

She shot a glance toward the Slytherin table. The platinum blonde git was engrossed in a conversation with Pansy Parkinson. He never even looked at the Gryffindor table, which proved to Hermione that he was certainly not involved in it. Malfoy was the type to wallow in his victories. He would have definitely told everyone at the Slytherin table what he had done, and as a result the entirety of the table would have had all on eyes on her. This was not the case.

"I dunno, Harry. Malfoy is a prat, but he doesn't act like he'd just knocked out a "filthy mudblood" in the dungeons." She spat. "Besides, the Slytherins would be throwing a party right now if he had."

"Okay, let's assume Snape _did_ do it," Harry said, trying his best to be on her side. "Can you think of what reason he would have for doing it? I mean, why drop you in a storeroom?"

"I guess so no one would find me." Hermione sighed heavily. "Look, I don't _know_ why he would have done it. I just can't think of any other explanation. He was the only one who knew I was down there and he was the only person who _could _ have done it! I made some demands when I was in his office. At the time he seemed all too willing to accept them, but, I don't know...maybe he had second thoughts after I left? Maybe he decided that I had no right to speak to him that way and that I needed to be punished?" Hermione was talking more to herself than to the boys.

"Blimey, and I thought losing house points was bad," Ron muttered. "I can't imagine having Snape actually cursing me from behind."

"How is your head feeling now, by the way?" Harry asked.

"Bloody awful. It took everything I had to get out of bed this morning." She turned her eyes toward the teacher's table, where Snape sat quietly eating a piece of toast. "The only thing that motivated me to get up was my determination to find out what happened to me." She watched him for a moment longer and then returned her eyes to her own plate.

"You said you made demands...to Snape," Harry trudged on. "What sort of demands, exactly?"

Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She couldn't tell them about the apprenticeship. It was already signed and set into motion. If either Harry or Ron knew she'd lied about it in the first place...well she didn't want to think about it.

"I..I just told him which nights I would and would not be willing, er...be available to serve detention." She chewed on her thumb, thinking. "He honeslty seemed inclined to work around my school schedule, so that the detentions wouldn't affect my marks." She wasn't the best liar, but she felt she'd done a good job of dodging the truth.

"Well that hardly seems a reason to curse you..." Harry began.

Ron interrupted. "I wouldn't put it passed that git. He's slimey and he's a Slytherin. Those berks would curse their own mother if she said something out of line to them."

The three of them sat saying nothing after that. Hermione couldn't be swayed and the boys had simply run out of things to say about the subject. Breakfast time was winding down and morning classes were about to begin. The plates were cleared from the table, and the trio stood, ready to take on the day. As they were walking out of the Great Hall, Harry stopped and looked at Hermione with an unsure look on his face.

"So, what are you going to about it?" He asked softly.

Hermione bristled slightly and looked Harry dead in the eye.

"I'm going to approach the bastard. The last thing I want is for him to think I'm scared of him."

Harry opened his mouth to argue, then stopped. He'd known Hermione for seven years and knew that once she'd made her mind up, there was no changing it. Instead, he just nodded solemnly and squeezed her hand. Hermione knew what it meant. He was going to be on her side, no matter what.

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She tried to concentrate on her classes throughout the day, but found it impossible to keep her mind from wandering to the conversation that was yet to be held with Snape. She had carefully mulled over her entire speech from start to finish. She wasn't lying when she'd told Harry that Snape didn't scare her. Sure, he had intimidated her before, but after last night's meeting, she was willing to face him. He may think she was stupid, but she was on to him. She knew he'd probably feign innocence, but was also sure she could read through it.

In History of Magic, Professor Binns droaned on and on and on. Hermione had tuned him out. She would just borrow Lavender Brown's notes if she needed to. There were more important things to attend to. She wished the Ministry hadn't ordered that all the Time Turners be destroyed. She would have really liked to go back to lastnight and witness what had happened. _It had to be Snape. It just had to be. I can't figure out why, but I will, and when I do..._

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the bell. At last, class had finally ended. She barrelled into the hallway and bumped square into Fiona.

"Oh, sorry!" Hermione yelped. "My mind is somewhere else, I didn't see you."

"No worries. But, I'm glad I found you." She looked at Hermione closely. "Is everything all right?"

"Y..yes, why?"

"Well you look a little...I dunno...off, and when you didn't show up last night, I feared something may have happened to you."

Hermione's eyes widened and a look of guilt covered her.

"Oh, Fiona! I am so, so, sorry. I completely forgot. I got stopped by someone on my way to the library, and I got sidetracked...and...oh, I am just really sorry." Hermione put her hand on Fiona's shoulder, looking concerned.. "How long did you wait for me?"

"I stayed and studied until just after nine. After that, I set off to look for you, but couldn't find you anywhere. I just assumed you were busy with your two friends or something, but I'll admit, I was a little worried." Fiona looked positively crushed, which made Hermione feel about two feet tall. "Who did you run into by the way?"

"Oh, I..." Hermione debated whether or not to tell the entire truth. "I was stopped by one of the Professors. It was about a homework assignment. Nothing of great importance, really. Unfortunately, after we were though talking, I'd forgotten about our plans to meet in the library. Is there anyway I can make it up to you?"

"How about you helping me tonight?" Fiona asked, hopefully. "I have a quiz coming up soon in Transfiguration and I could really use your help preparing for it."

"Tonight's no good, " Hermione winced as she said it. "I have to, erm, serve detention with Professor Snape. I had a few unfortunate accidents the other day in class and...well let's just say, I'll be in detention for quite some time."

"Well," Fiona said in clipped tone. "I suppose I will just have to make other arrangements." Her last words weren't rude, but they weren't friendly either. "When you think you can find some free time, you know where to find me. I have to be going now."

Fiona did not smile as she turned and walked away. Hermione watched her leave, feeling about as low as the heels on her shoes. Fiona didn't have many friends, and Hermione had blatantly admitted that she had forgotten all about her. When she saw the green eyed girl disappear around the corner, Hermione shrugged to herself. She had way too many things on her mind today, and her head was still throbbing. Resolving to get through this day, even if it killed her, she put one foot in front of the other and went about her business.

By the time dinner had arrived, Hermione was once again, not feeling very peckish. She had to meet Snape in half an hour, and she felt positively disgusted. She pushed her food around on her plate with a fork, and occasionally checked up at the Head table to see what Snape was doing. Everytime she looked, he seemed rather involved in a conversation with Professor Flitwick, as if he hadn't a care in the world. Hermione scowled and dropped her fork with a clatter. Ron and Harry exchanged uneasy glances and both non-verbally agreed to keep their mouths shut on the matter. They both knew well that Miss Hermione Granger could handle herself. When she spotted Snape leaving the Head table accompanied by Flitwick, she decided it was time for her to leave, too. Without saying a word to the boys, she stormed out of the Great Hall. Ron silently mused to himself, that if her cloak had been slightly fuller, Hermione would have looked like a female version of Snape billowing out the door.

She had about ten minutes until she was expected to meet Snape in the Potions classroom, so she decided to stop off in her rooms to drop her things. She ran into the bathroom quick and caught site of herself in the mirror. _Oh, this won't due. This won't due at all, _she thought. She looked like a feeble school girl. Snape would take one look at her and steamroller her with demands. If she was going to be his apprentice, then she was certainly going to have to dress like an apprentice. Besides, how could she expect him to understand how serious she was about accusing him for what he had done to her if she looked like a child? She was 18, not necessarily old and wise, but undoubtedly an adult in her own right. Flinging open her wardrobe, she selected a set of blue robes that her mother had purchased for her to wear during University interviews at the end of term. She pulled her hair into a tight bun and slid into a low pair of black heels. Taking one last look at herself in the wardrobe mirror, she realized she looked like a lawyer heading off to trial. _Perfect. I dare him to treat me like a stupid school girl now._

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Standing outside the Potions classroom, Hermione was overcome with uncertainty again. She reminded herself that her wand was well within reach if he tried to do anything to her. She also reminded herself that he couldn't possibly kill her, because too many people knew of her wherabouts, including Dumbledore, unlike last night. Besides, Snape wasn't stupid enough to try something in front of her face.

She opened the door a little more dramatically than she had intended, but it helped to make her point, none-the-less. Snape looked up from his desk, slightly askance. She'd thrown him off a bit. _Good. _ With a face like solid marble, she held her head high and half-stomped up to him. He could tell she was very angry about something, but before he could open his mouth, she was already laying into him.

"How _dare you!_" She spat the words out like sparks. "You may think I am some sort of a blithering idiot, but I assure you Severus Snape, I am _not!_ Furthermore, when I am through with you I will _personally_ see to it that you are never allowed to work among the presence of human beings again!"

She leaned forward so that she was practically nose to nose with him. His face remained utterly blank. When she spoke again, she sounded like a snake hissing.

_"You are a cowardly bastard and not fit to work in a school as honorable as this."_

Snape simply blinked, but Hermione, in her stage of white hot anger, took it as a sign of his defiance. She raised her hand to slap him hard across the face. Her hand came within inches of his cheek, but before she could make contact, he grabbed her wrist and stared at her, wide-eyed.

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_A/N: Sorry for the evil-cliffy, but hey! How else am I supposed to get you to keep logging on to see what happens next! Thank you again for all of the great reviews. You really don't understand how much they motivate me. Everytime I get a new one, I get the urge to continue the story! Really! Take a minute and let me know what you think. Again, constructive criticism is welcome, too! (I also may consider suggestions...if I feel they fit my writing style.) I've already started Chapter 9, and hope to have it posted soon (it's going to be a fun one for sure). Cheers! _


	9. Chapter 9 The Truth pt1

_Disclaimer: I DO NOT own these characters, nor do I claim to. They are the property of JKR. I'm just using them for my own hysterical fantasy world.

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Snape held Hermione's wrist like a vice, eyeing her like one would eye a hurt puppy. He didn't appear angry at all, rather extremely concerned with her behavior. She wrenched her hand back and almost screamed.

"Don't _touch_ me!"

Her chest was heaving with fury and her eyes burned as if they had been set on fire. She kept close to him, though...afraid that if she took her eyes off of him he would escape. Knowing how rediculous it may have sounded, she didn't care. She was going to win this round, no matter what.

"What do you have to say for yourself? Didn't think I'd figure it out, did you? Didn't think I would catch on to your abominable scheme? Well, I know _all_ about it...and I think you are entirely mad!" She stood back and crossed her arms defiantly awaiting his rebuttle.

"Mad?" he raised an eyebrow. "I fear I must say the same of you, Miss Granger."

Snape stood up from behind his desk, and loomed over her. Hermione had to look up in order to maintain eye contact with him. She matched his stare as he rounded the edge of the desk and stood directly in front of her. The air between them was thick and extremely heated. He kept a careful watch on her, like she was a ticking time bomb about to go off.

"Would you care to tell me just exactly what it is you think I have done? Because if it has anything to do with Potter, I can assure you..."

"_Don't_ patronize me, Professor! This isn't a game! You know VERY well what I am referring to!" The throbbing in her head had returned with a vengence.

The pain had never really gone away, but had at least calmed to a bearable state as the day drew on, but now it was back full force. She slammed the heel of her palm against her forehead and gasped. Snape leaned forward and reached out to steady her, but she drew back so quickly she lost her balance and fell. Hermione was getting nervous, and her confidence was waning. She was flat on her bum, while the greasy bastard towered over, and her head vibrated with sheer pain. She was certainly _losing_ the battle. Every step he took echoed off the stone floor and rang in her ears. He was getting closer, and closer, and closer. Now he was kneeling...he was scrutinizing her with his eyes...his wand was out... _Oh God, _ she thought. _This is it._ She looked up at him in terror.

"_Please,_ don't hurt me." She cowered and tears filled her eyes. "I don't know why you're doing this to me, but please, I beg you...don't hurt me."

Snape stared in disbelief at the girl lying on the floor in front of him. He had no idea what was going on in her mind, but she was clearly terrfied...and the worst part was, she was terrified of _him._ He quickly put his wand back in his sleeve. He'd only pulled it out as a precaution due to the girl's obviously volatile behavior, but now she was shaking and practically crying. His first reaction to her entrance was to scold her, but now all he wanted to do was comfort her. Something had her shaken to the core and she was blaming him for it. _But why?_

"Miss Granger, " he said softly. "I'm not about to hurt you." He extended his hand to grab her elbow, but again, she jerked away. "Please allow me to help you to your feet, Miss Granger. I give you my word, I am not going to harm you."

She narrowed her eyes at him, causing a slight tear to drip down her cheek.

"I have absolutely no reason to trust you." The words barely left her mouth because she was trembling so intensely.

Snape stood and removed his outer cloak and covered her shoulders with it. He knelt back down and looked her straight in the eyes, his gaze was gentle and the sharp planes of his face appeared to soften.

"You have no reason _not_ to trust me."

He placed both hands firmly on her shoulders. With the cloak covering her, she found it difficult to fight him off. He pulled her to her feet and sat her on a nearby stool. He took a seat at a stool sitting adjacent to Hermione's. She stared at him, unable to speak. She was so confused. She was sure he had hurt her lastnight, but now she was having doubts. Surely, anyone who had cursed her, couldn't be this concerned about her now. She wanted her head to stop pounding, she wanted her brain to stop thinking, and most of all she wanted him to stop staring at her. She let out a ragged breath and blinked off the tears. _You're stronger than this, Hermione. _Straightening her back and tilting up her chin, she stared back at him. She had to say what she thought she knew.

"You cursed me...last night...after I left your office. You cursed me and caused me to collapse. You then moved me to a storage room and left me there to rot." The words rolled out of her before she even knew she was saying them. Her entire demeanor had become stoic. "What I cannot figure out, is why. WHY?" She couldn't make out his reaction. His expression had returned to dumfounded.

"You...you were attacked last night?" Snape asked, focusing all of his attention on her. This was _not_ the response Hermione had thought she would receive. "When? How? Where?" His tone rose higher with each question.

"I...I...," Hermione stammered, not knowing what to do. He seemed just as surprised as she had been about the whole situation. "I...yes. Out in the corridor, near the stairwell leading to and from the dungeons. It happened no more than five minutes from when I left your office."

Snape sat thinking for a moment. He'd remembered watching her leave and he'd remembered the awful feeling he'd gotten before he went to sleep. But, it didn't make any sense. A good twenty minutes had passed between the time she'd left and the time he had taken the potion. Had something worse happen after the initial attack? He looked at her, desperate for more information.

"Miss Granger...are you _sure_ it happened that quickly?"

"Positive. All I had done is walked out of your office and down the corridors. Granted, I was walking slowly because I was lost in thought, but I assure you it was definitely less than five minutes. Why?"

He didn't answer her question. He still had more of his own to ask.

"And this curse...as you call it. What happened exactly? What happened before you were taken to the store room?"

Hermione closed her eyes trying to remember as best as she could. She recited what happened, play-by-play, keeping her eyes closed, as if watching her own private movie.

"I walked toward the staircase and before I could take a step, a pain wracked through my entire body. I tried to move but was slammed again...and I remember at one point reaching for the railing, but I was blinded by a white light, and another pain shook me. The next thing I remember was waking up in the store room next to your office and I was leaned up against a wall. My sweater was torn, but my robe was not. I had a terrible headache...but forced myself to walk through the door. When I reached the steps I vomited all over myself...," she hesitated.

"Continue, Miss Granger..."

"I...I don't remember. I went back to my rooms and went to sleep." She opened her eyes and looked up at him, the tears were gone, but her brown eyes were still damp. She was dressed like a professional young woman, with her new robes and tightly wound hair, but her face was as innocent as a child's.

Severus had watched her recount the events of the previous evening with a pang in his heart. He'd always been known as a hard and calloused person...but a heart still beat beneath his chest like anyone else's...and dammit, if it didn't betray him every now and then. He somehow felt responsible for what had happened to her. He should have never asked her to come down to the dungeons at night alone. _But this is Hogwarts! This is one of the safest places in the wizarding world! Well, unless you're Harry Potter._ He decided he needed to get to the bottom of this, and he knew just the thing to do it. He stood up and reached for her hand.

"Come." His tenor voice wasn't threatening, but was, actually almost soothing. Hermione recoiled at first, but eventually submitted. He hadn't hurt her so far...and actually seemed _concerned_.

He led her out of the potions classroom and through the corridors of the dungeons. Admittedly, Hermione felt sick just thinking about being back in that same hallway. He led her past the storeroom, into his office, and then into another room. He muttered "lumos" and light flooded the area. Hermione knew immediately that she must have been in his private rooms. She felt extremely alien in these surroundings, but couldn't help thinking, _this is where he lives_ as she scanned the room. He led her to a small couch and instructed her to sit and wait there. He disappeared into another room. Hermione could hear him rummaging through a cupboard of some sort and he was muttering loudly as he slammed things around. At last, he must have found what he was looking for.

When he came back to the room, he was holding a yellow potions vile. He unstoppered it and handed it to Hermione, to look at. She looked at him and furrowed her brows.

"You don't honestly expect me to take this?" She had regained a good measure of her confidence and she was no more a fool than he was.

He took the bottle from her.

"No, Miss Granger. It is for me. It is Veritaserum...and it's the only way I will be able to prove to you that I am not the one who has harmed you." He tilted the bottle to his lips and swallowed before he could have any second thoughts. After a few minutes he spoke.

"You may ask me whatever you need to know, and all I can do is speak the truth."

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_Yeah I know, another cliffie, but I just wanted to get something posted to wet your appetites. Thanksgiving is coming and I haven't had as much time to write. I figure a little bit at at time is better than nothing at all! Please be sure to tell me what you think!_


	10. Chapter 10 The Truth pt2

_Disclaimer: I DO NOT own these characters, nor do I claim to. They are the property of JKR. I'm just using them for my own hysterical fantasy world._

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Severus Snape was no fool. He knew exactly what he had walked himself into, but at this point, he was willing to do just about anything to silence that guilty voice in his head. Hermione Granger did not trust him. Okay fine, he could really care less, but that _bloody voice_. It had haunted him all through last night and even more so today.

_How can I trust you?_

Enough. He had to silence it. It would drive him mad until he did so. However, he decided he needed to lay down some ground rules before she got too carried away with his reluctant truthfulness. He recalled the first time Dumbledore had required him to take Veritaserum. It was awful. Albus had him spilling his guts about things that didn't even remotely relate to his time as a Death Eater. That was years ago, though. Snape had learned how to avoid answering things he didn't feel needed to be made public. It wasn't lying...it was simply sidestepping. Truth serum couldn't prevent dancing around the facts, it just prevented lying. He sat on a large overstuffed chair near the couch.

"Miss Granger, before we begin, I must say this...you are only to ask me questions that relate to the matter at hand. If you ask me something I feel is none of your business, I will simply remain silent."

Hermione looked at him closely. Body snatchers from outer space had clearly kidnapped her Potions Master and replaced him with another being. It would certainly explain why a teacher would have attacked a student for no reason. World domination by another planet, starting with her. Furthermore, it would explain why Snape was so willing to prove himself to her. She shook her head.

"Why are you doing this?" Hermione motioned to the yellow bottle.

"I've already told you. To prove that I have not harmed you, as you have accused me."

"No. I mean _why_?Why would you, Professor Severus Snape, the man who cares about nothing and no one, be willing to take Veritaserum to prove to a student he is telling the truth? You could just as easily give me detention and throw me out."

He closed his eyes and grimaced. The Veritaserum was tugging at him to answer.

"You would not believe me if I told you," was all he managed to say.

"Professor...actually, I would. You are on Veritaserum," Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, very well," he sighed. "Ever since the moment you questioned me in my office last night, I haven't been able to get your ruddy voice out of my mind."

"My voice?" Hermione asked, confused.

"Yes. Your voice. You said something along the lines of, 'how can I trust you'. For some reason, the question has been haunting me. I am to take on apprentice who doesn't trust me, and that's a problem. Adding insult to injury, said apprentice now thinks I've tried to hurt her." His tone was quite blasé. He didn't want to say any of the things he had said, so adding emotion to his responses would just be a waste of energy.

"But you didn't...that's what you're saying, right? You weren't the one who attacked me last night?"

"No, Miss Granger. After you left lastnight, I tried to work on a plan for tonight's lesson, and then I went to sleep. I, of course, had to take a sleeping potion to stifle that broken record of your voice in my mind," he said raising an eyebrow with a sour look on his face.

"I want you to say the words, Professor." Hermione still wasn't satisfied.

"I'm sorry?"

"I want you to say it. 'I did not hurt you last night by a curse or any other means in the dungeons last night, Miss Granger.' Then I will believe you."

Snape fought the urge to roll his eyes. He too a deep breath, and like a child standing in front of his mother, he began to recite.

"I did not hurt you last night by a curse...or any other means in the dungeons last night, Miss Granger." He looked up at her with an expression that clearly said, _now are you satisified?_

"Thank you," Hermione said, beginning to relax a little. "But if you didn't...then who did? Did you see or hear anything out of the ordinary?"

"I'm afraid I did not...although..." he hesitated, thinking.

"Yes? _Although_, what?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Well, it's hard to explain, really," he said, leaning back in his chair, looking off into the distance. "I had an odd feeling. As if I knew something were wrong, but at the time, I wasn't sure what it meant."

"What do you mean?"

He turned his gaze back upon her.

"Miss Granger, I have had many dealings with horrible things in my life. I know you are aware of my history as a Death Eater, and you are also aware of my loyalty to the Order of the Phoenix. I get bad feelings often. It's really quite hard to discern who or what causes them, anymore."

"But this one was different, wasn't it? It was different enough for you to remember it..." She wasn't going to let this go until she knew everything.

"I suppose so, yes."

"What did you do then?"

"I've told you. I took a sleeping potion, and went to sleep." His last response rendered Hermione silent, as she thought quietly to herself about everthing.

Snape leaned foward, resting his elbows on his knees, and studied her for a moment. She was dressed so differently than he had ever seen her dressed before. Her robes were a crisp, royal blue and her hair style aged her face. If he hadn't already known her age, he would have definitely mistaken her for a woman in her twenties. She was quite pretty, in fact. Certainly changed from the bushy-headed, buck-toothed girl who had first entered his classroom nearly seven years ago. Hermione had never lacked confidence, but now she had an air of refinery about her. She was not a girl. No, she was a bright and talented young woman now...and she was his new apprentice. Severus hailed her in a much higher respect than he had realized. Hermione caught him watching her and cocked her head to one side.

"What are you thinking?"

"I choose not to answer." He stood up and walked over to door leading to his office. "Since the interrogation is over, I think we should get started."

"But what about figuring out what has happened to me?" Hermione said a little defiantly.

"Miss Granger, if you do not remember anything, I'm afraid there is not much I can do to help you. Have you considered talking to Dumbledore?"

"Of course I've thought about it. But I was so sure it was you, that I wanted to approach you myself..." She stopped herself when a thought came to her. "You don't think Draco Malfoy could have anything to do with this, do you?" She seriously doubted it, but it didn't hurt to ask.

"Draco Malfoy is certainly capable of hurting someone, but I'm quite certain that if he had done something like that, the entire school would have heard about it by now. The boy was never really big on being humble." He motioned for her to join him as he walked through the door. "Perhaps the best thing for you to do is speak to Dumbledore in the morning. He may be an old codger, but he's still quite spry in the mind."

"Will...will you go with me?" Hermione couldn't believe what she was asking him to do, but he was the only other person who was in the dungeons at the time it happened. "I think you could help explain what happened, and you could tell Dumbledore about your strange feeling."

"Miss Granger..." he started.

"Please, Professor," she pleaded. "I could really use your help."

He saw no point in arguing with her. She wasn't going to let him get out of it.

"Very well, I shall go with you to see Dumbledore in the morning. Tonight, however, we must begin working. The last thing I need is Madame Pomfrey pestering me about low supplies, now that she knows I have an apprentice."

Hermione shed his overcoat, leaving it on the couch. She followed Professor Snape back to the Potions classroom, where he already had a table setup for the evening's task. The two worked side by side, not as teacher and student, but as colleagues. As the Veritaserum began to wear off, Snape relaxed a bit more, knowing he wasn't going to spill any unecessary information to Hermione. She had impressed him more than he could have ever imagined. They worked tirelessly for three hours straight until the potion had become perfect.

The tight bun that had previously been stationed on Hermione's head had, throughout the course of the evening, become loose, with strands falling into her eyes and strewn about her face. The heat from the bubbling cauldron had caused her cheeks to turn pink and a trickle of sweat beaded her brow. Hermione marveled at how cool Snape's skin was. He hadn't even seemed to break a sweat. When at last, they had stoppered the final bottle and placed it into the cupboard, Hermione realized that the pain in her head had almost completely gone away, and for that, she was thankful.

"So do I pass?" She said with a bit of a smile.

"Indeed, Miss Granger, you have done quite well. Have you ever considered becoming a Potions Mistress after leaving Hogwarts?"

"I always saw myself as being lecturer...but I suppose becoming a Potions Mistress wouldn't be so bad either." She spoke to him as if she were speaking to Harry or Ron. He'd proven a lot to her in one evening, and it did not go unnoticed by her. "Of course, I would need good references."

"I think that could be arranged." Snape _smiled_ and Hermione could not believe her eyes. It wasn't just a smile...it was a pleasant smile, that proved he reguarded her as something of a friend, as well.

"I must be off then," she said quickly. "I really need to get some rest. I will plan to meet Dumbledore right after breakfast. I trust I can just meet you there?"

"Yes, Miss Granger...you may trust that I will be there." He held the door open for her and watched her walk away. He followed her out this time making sure she made it all the way up the steps and into the upper level of the castle, safely.

When he was certain she was out of danger, Snape made his way back to his office and into his rooms. He noticed his cloak was still laying on the couch where Hermione had left it earlier. Not one to leave things lying about, he picked it up and carried it into his bedroom to hang in the wardrobe. Whilst walking to his room, he unconsciously breathed in the light perfume that gently emanated off the cloak. It smelled like fresh lilacs and a hint of soft musk. It was, in a word, intoxicating. He quickly realized what he was doing and tossed the cloak in the wardrobe drawer.

He puttered about his rooms for another half hour or so, then settled upon a book and headed off to bed. He reached into the wardrobe for his dressing gown and before he could stop himself, he picked up the cloak and breathed in the light scent once more, and then returned it to the drawer. He changed his clothes and sank into bed, but sleep did not stop the sheer innocence of _her _from flooding his mind.

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_Hmmm...tasty! Thanks again for the great support and reviews! Keep em comin', I'm greedy and want to read more of what you have to say:)_  



	11. Chapter 11 The Morning After

_This is a point of view chapter...first Hermione's, then Snape's. I hope it's not too confusing :) I was going to write it as two chapters, but since everyone had been begging for longer chapters, I decided to make it all one._

_oh yeah and..._

_Disclaimer: I DO NOT own these characters, nor do I claim to. They are the property of JKR. I'm just using them for my own hysterical fantasy world.__

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To say that Hermione was relieved, was an understatement. She had reached a point of relief that couldn't be described. Snape wasn't the one behind the attack and furthermore, he may actually prove to be an ally, which she desperately needed. Also, the horrifying pain in her head was gone. Hallelujah for that. Tomorrow she was going to meet with both Snape and Dumbledore to get to the bottom of what was going on, as well, so it seemed things were starting to look up. It appeared that now her only problem was the lie she had told the boys. She was Snape's apprentice, not his detention captive. Of course, that small little detail could remain secret until the opportune time. She had bigger fish to fry. She had only been at Hogwarts three days, and it already felt like a year had passed.

She changed out of her nice robes into her sleeping attire and wriggled into bed. Even though she closed her eyes, her brain wasn't about to let her fall asleep just yet. She replayed the events of the evening like a short film in her mind. Being Snape's apprentice was going to be hard work, but something told her that it would be work that she didn't mind attending to all that much. She secretly admitted to herself that she had actually enjoyed the time she spent with Snape this evening (only after she determined his innocence, of course).

That was another thing, too. Snape had allowed himself to be vulnerable in front a student. This was absolutely incredible. She knew he would have never done that for anyone aside from Dumbledore, and it touched her. He was honestly concerned about her fears and wanted to quash them immediately...and then there were the small, more personal gestures. The way he gently approached her when she started to fall. She knew now that he was only trying to steady her...and the way he helped her gingerly to the stool to sit. His eyes were full of concern, not hatred, except she had been too jaded to notice it...but perhaps the most surprising token of his kindness was when he wrapped her sweetly in his cloak and led her to his private rooms. Again, she was sure at the time that he was only trying to harm her, but in the light of this new evidence, she knew full well that he was only trying to help her. _ Who knew Professor Severus Snape had a caring bone in that severe...yet, surprisingly gentle...body of his._ It was all really too much take. Yesterday she hated him, today she wanted to kill him, and now tonight, she wanted nothing more than to thank him.

As these thoughts circled her mind, she finally started to drowse. The warm blankets and soft pillows surrounded her and at last, she fell asleep. Tomorrow was beginning to show signs of promise and she couldn't wait to get there.

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Thursday morning arrived without much fanfare. In fact, it was quite miserable. The skies outside the castle were gloomy and gray. Rain was looming, but Hermione didn't care. As far as she was concerned, sunshine was just around the corner. She did the usual morning things...woke up, got dressed, fiddled with her hair and make-up, met Ron and Harry in the Common Room...and headed down to breakfast.

The bewitched ceiling in the Great Hall reflected the gloom that was outside. Hermione really couldn't understand why on days like these, Dumbledore didn't enchant the ceiling to be a bit more cheerful instead. No matter though. She chatted with Ron and Harry about how she had changed her mind about Snape being her attacker. She didn't want to go into much detail, because she knew they wouldn't understand...even more, they _couldn't_ understand.

"So just like that?" Harry inquired. "You think he's innocent because he said so..."

"Well, yes. It was more than that, of course, but it's too much to explain, really." Hermione bristled.

"Then please explain," Ron piped up, "because I've got to hear this."

"Look, I approached him calmly and professionally," she lied, "and simply stated my concerns. He acquiesced to answer my questions and thusly proved his innocence."

"In English, 'Mione." Ron shook his head. "Honestly, sometimes I think you're mental. You're not speaking in front of the ruddy House of Lords."

"Hermione, do you honestly believe he is innocent?" Harry asked, completely ignoring Ron.

She looked him plainly in the eye and with all honesty and answered, "yes, Harry...I do."

"Then I believe you. I've never known you to be wrong before." Harry said with confidence.

"But if not Snape, then who?" Ron looked even more worried than before. "It's one thing thinking you _know_ your attacker...it's another not having any idea who it could be."

Hermione shook her head solemnly.

"I don't know, guys, but I'm going to Dumbledore for help."

Harry grabbed her hand and nodded.

"That's exactly what I would do, Hermione. Dumbledore will figure things out, for sure."

A loud clatter above announced that the Post Owls had arrived. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all received something today. Ron had gotten a nice letter from his mother detailing the events of her trip to Bill and Fleur's new home in Surrey. It seemed as though Mrs. Weasley had grown to tolerate the part-Veela, part-snob, but that's about as far as her relationship would grow. Harry got a letter from Remus and Tonks. They had just returned from their Honeymoon and wanted to check in on Harry to see how the first week of school was going. Hermione received the early edition of the Daily Prophet, as well as a nice card from her mother and father saying they already missed her and that they hoped she would write soon.

She tucked the card in her school bag and began to read the paper. There was nothing of great interest in it today, and since Ron and Harry were busy discussing their letters to one another, Hermione decided to steal a quick glance at Snape. She didn't know why she was curious of his current actions, but she looked up none-the-less. When her gaze reached the teacher's table she noticed he had been watching her, too. Of course, when their eyes met they both quickly found something else to look at, as if the meeting of their eyes had happened quite by accident. She immersed herself in the Prophet and pretended to read. Instead her thoughts were racing. _Why was he looking at me? Surely he really wasn't...or maybe if he was, it was because he was just checking to see if I had made it to breakfast okay. But why did he look away so fast? If he was just looking to see if I were here, he would have simply nodded? Right? Well, then again, **I** looked away fast, too, but only because I was taken by surprise that he was looking at me._ She started to giggle. What on earth was she worrying about? This was Snape for crying out loud.

"What's so funny, 'Mione?" Ron looked at her.

"Oh, ahem, oh it's nothing. I just read a silly little article in the Prophet," she quickly thought of something that would bore Ron so he wouldn't investigate further. "It uh, was about the, uh differences between The Work and Families Bill for Muggles juxtaposed with the The Magical Law of Employment and Familial Qualities Bill for Wizards as set out by the Minstry of Magic...you see The Prime Minister and the Minister of Magic are at odds becau..."

Ron FINALLY had interrupted. She really didn't know how much longer she could ramble like this.

"Okay, okay...I think you can keep your little joke to yourself...honestly," Ron said rolling his eyes and turning his conversation back to Harry.

Pretending to continue reading the article that didn't actually exist, Hermione stole another quick glance at the head table. Snape was no longer there...for that matter neither was Dumbledore. Hermione rolled the paper and tossed it into her bag, told Ron and Harry she was off to meet the Headmaster, and fled the Great Hall.

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Severus Snape had been plagued by strange dreams all night long. When the tiny bell on the bedside clock started to ring, he was relieved to find himself in his own bed, in his own room. His night's dreaming had taken him on a rather odd journey. Granted, he was used to having peculiar dreams...Voldemort had definitely seen to it that his subconcious remained a wild universe. However, last night's dreams were much different than the usual 'in-a-graveyard-surrounded-by-a-bunch-of-overgrown-twits-in-rediculous-masks' type of dreams.

Instead, he was in a field of wildflowers, and wearing of all things, white robes. It was a little too hiddeous to bear. As he left that strange place, he found himself in a room with a young woman who's face could not be seen. In his mind he felt great adoration for the woman, but in his heart he felt horrible pain. Perhaps, though, the strangest of the dreams found him standing over a dead body. Again, the person was not someone he could identify, but it appeared all too realistic. He couldn't recall his emotions completely, but a sick feeling rose in his mind that made him think he was almost pleased to see the person dead. True, he'd killed people before, but it had been many years ago, and he had no intention of ever killing anyone again. He hoped the dream was just that...a dream, and nothing more. In any event, the night's journeys had taken a toll on his stomach and he was famished.

He got out of bed, showered, and got dressed. Pulling his over-cloak out of the wardrobe, he shook it to release the minor wrinkles. The moment he fastened it around himself, he was once again surrounded by the light scent of lilacs and soft musk. His sensible side told him to take it off and do a quick cleaning charm, but his impractical side told him to just leave it as is. The impractical side won.

Once he reached the Great Hall he took his normal seat next to Professor Flitwick. He exchanged courtesies with the tiny professor for a moment and then stood up the instant Dumbledore arrived. He strode over to the Headmaster and whispered to him that he needed to see him as soon as they had finished eating. Dumbledore nodded in agreement and took his seat. Severus returned to his seat and at once, the food appeared before all of them.

He was buttering a piece of toast when suddenly Miss Granger had entered his thoughts. He looked down at the Gryffindor table and felt a brief rush of relief when he saw her chatting away to those two imbeciles she called friends. He couldn't understand why a girl of her intelligence would associate herself with the likes of Potter and Weasley. Of course, there weren't many people in this school that she could compare wits with, so he couldn't blame her for at least picking friends who looked after her. He continued watching her for quite a while. Flitwick was running on about something unimportant, but Severus nodded every few seconds so that it would appear he was actually listening.

While watching Hermione, Snape thought about their first official apprentice meeting last night. The girl had barged in ready to crucify him and by night's end had proven herself as an intelligent and extremely capable young woman. Aside from all that, though, he was genuinely happy to have had her company. Not many people cared to converse with Severus Snape, and those that did (for example, Professor Flitwick) usually talked about things that were dreadfully boring. Not Hermione. She had matched him wit for wit, and even teased him a few times. As much as he hated to admit it, he was rather looking foward to their next lesson, tonight. He was glad she had agreed to meeting him three times a week, because he really needed to get her up to speed on all the potions. Classes had just started, so he really hadn't a lot of homework and tests to deal with, but in the coming weeks, he expected he would be swamped. He had been so elated to receive the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, but quite let down when he realized he would still have to teach Potions to the blithering idiots in this school.

The Post Owls had finally arrived, which was a good thing. Severus had been expecting a parcel from Hogsmeade. The students were taking their first trip there this weekend, and Snape honestly didn't want to venture into the shoppes with the lot of the school standing around. Instead, he'd decided to just order in. A very large tawny dropped the brown paper parcel in front of him. He deposited a couple of galleons into the pouch tied to its foot, and sent it away. Upon closer inspection, he found that the boomslang skin he had ordered was just perfect. Ordering in, it seemed, was the perfect way to go.

Hoping she'd be occupied with her post, Severus decided to check on Miss Granger again. He watched her tuck a colorfully decorated card in her satchel and then immerse herself in the Daily Prophet. He snorted. The girl was so smart, yet she allowed herself to read the drivel in that rediculous rag. He would be sure to call her out on it later this eveni...

_Oh no. She's caught me looking at her. Must look away...quickly._

He grabbed the box containing the boomslang skin and pretended to be extremely interested in it. _Oh yes, lovely boomslang skin indeed. Oh my, what a fine specimen. _ He looked back down and saw she was reading the paper again. _ Why had she been looking up at him? Could she tell he was watching her? Was it just a coincidence? Was she even looking at him at all...maybe she was looking at the candle on the wall behind him. But that's just rediculous, why would she be looking at a cand..._Severus felt a hand on his shoulder. It was the Headmaster.

"You said there was something you wanted to speak with me about?" Dumbledore said softly.

"Yes Headmaster," Snape said quickly, turning to look at Albus. "But I must suggest that we discuss it in your chambers. I will follow you out."

Snape and Dumbledore left through the teachers entrance. Severus was hoping to fill Albus in on all of the details before Hermione arrived. Mostly, though, he wanted to tell Dumbledore about his strange dreams, and he didn't want Miss Granger to hear any part of it.

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_Next Chapter? (as if you don't already know) Dumbledore's office of course! He will get to the bottom of things, right...and we all know how Dumbledore likes to meddle. Hmm... wonder what he'll meddle with _this _time. Gee...I wonder. Thank you all so much for your reviews, I love it! Oh, and to all of you who are writing fics yourselves, go for it! I've been enjoying reading what you all have. You see, when people leave me a review, I look at your profiles to see what each of you are up to! If you have a fic on your page, I check 'em out! (Especially, the HP fics focusing on our beloved HG and SS.) Hope you're still enjoying it so far. Cheers Mates!_


	12. Chapter 12 Dumbledore's Office

_Disclaimer: I DO NOT own these characters, nor do I claim to. They are the property of JKR. I'm just using them for my own hysterical fantasy world._

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Dumbledore peered over his half-moon glasses at Snape and sighed deeply. He couldn't understand why every single year a student is attacked at Hogwarts. He wondered if Durmstrang or Beauxbatons ever had this much trouble with danger. However, Severus had not yet told him about the dreams. Judging by the look on Dumbledore's face, he wasn't sure if the timing was appropriate. 

"Why did Miss Granger not come to me first?" Albus asked with a hint of solicitude in his voice.

Severus shifted in the overstuffed chair across from Dumbledore's desk. He really didn't want to tell Albus that she had accused him of the attack, but knew he had to tell him everything. He wrung his hands and stared at the floor when he spoke.

"She came to me, Headmaster..." he hesitated a moment and then brought his eyes up to meet Dumbledore's. "Because she thought _I_ was the one who had brought upon the attack."

"Severus...you can't be serious?" Dumbledore saw that he was. "I just can't imagine why..."

"Well I'm sure Harry Potter had a role in that accusation." Snape said lifting an eyebrow and curling his lip.

"Yes, but surely Harry Potter knows by now that you are only here to help the students, not hurt them. I've told him so myself!" Dumbledore declared.

"With all due respect, Headmaster, Potter is just as thick as his father was. Besides, this isn't about _why_ she accused me or even the fact that she did...my concern is that she was attacked in the first place." He stood up and began pacing in front of Dumbledore's desk. "I can't piece it together, and believe me I've tried." Snape stopped pacing and looked at Albus in desperation. "...and it happened right under my nose..." His voice trailed off and he sunk back into the large chair, eyes turned to the bright sunshine outside the window.

"Severus, you mustn't beat yourself up like this. You need to have your wits about you if you are to protect her..." Before Dumbledore could finish his thoughts he heard footsteps coming up the massive spiral staircase into his office. He shot Snape a confused look, wondering who could have known the password, since all the other teachers were in class.

"I told Miss Granger the password last evening, so that she could come and talk with you today after breakfast." Snape said resolutely. Dumbledore nodded and put on a beaming smile for Hermione as she slowly walked into his office.

"Ah, Miss Granger, do have a seat." Dumbledore conjured a chair identical to the one Snape currently occupied right next to it. His look changed suddenly from jovial to serious. "Professor Snape tells me that a rather unsettling event has taken place. Do you care to tell me about it?"

Hermione looked nervously at Snape, who nodded her on in silent encouragement, and then back to Dumbledore. She swallowed hard and slowly spoke.

"H-how much do you already know?"

"I've told him what you disclosed to me last night, Miss Granger, but he needs to hear it in your own words." Snape did not look at her when he spoke, instead he had maintained constant eye contact with Albus, who continued exchanging looks between each of them.

"Professor Snape is right, Miss Granger. I'll need to know every single detail that you can give me."

Hermione looked solemnly at Dumbledore and after taking a deep breath, began retelling the story. There wasn't much to tell, really. The only thing she was able to go into great detail about was the pain that she had felt. As she tried hard to remember everything, she suddenly became aware of the small sore on her lip. It had gone down considerably since the other day, but she decided that it probably was worth mentioning. Afterall, it's appearance was just as much of a mystery.

"Hermione, this _curse_, as you call it, caused your vision to go all white?" Dumbledore implored. "Not black?"

"Yes, Sir. It was a blinding white...almost like lightening."

Dumbledore sat thinking for a moment and then stood suddenly. "If you don't mind, I would like to try and extract your memories from that evening." Seeing the strained look on her face, he added, "it won't be painful...no, no, in fact it may prove to be a relief!"

He walked around to the back of Hermione's chair and placed the tip of his wand to her temple. "Now I want you to think very hard of the very moment that you left Professor Snape's office two nights ago."

She closed her eyes tightly and concentrated with every bit of energy she had. It seemed lately, all of her efforts had been spent on just trying to do something as simple as remembering. She rewound her thoughts back to the moment when she had asked Snape about the charmed door, how he had shown her how it worked, and how she had told herself that she wanted to make nice with him so that maybe one day he would show her how to do the same thing. She heard Dumbledore make a sound of recognition behind her and slowly felt as if her hair had been lifted away from her head. She started to open her eyes, but Dumbledore murmed, "keep them closed just a bit longer, Miss Granger." After a few seconds, and feeling a very strange, yet miniscule tingle near her temple, she was told to open her eyes. She saw the remnants of her memory hanging like a silver thread from Dumbledore's wand. He dropped it into the Penseive on his desk.

"I think it's time you each take a second look at this night and I my first." Dumbledore lead the journey into Hermione's memory by way of the Penseive. Each of them landed with a soft thud onto the floor in Snape's office. Hermione couldn't believe her eyes. She'd heard Harry talk about his experiences in the Penseive, but she herself had never used one. The scene was like a play that she was the star of. It was all too surreal, as she watched herself walk through the door of Snape's office into the Hallway (and the three of them followed her out). Unfortunately, from that point on they were only able to see what Hermione had seen. The damp stone corridor, the stairs, the railing, and the pure white light. All three were then violently chucked back into Dumbledore's office again, topling over each other.

"That's some memory, Miss Granger. I'm not sure I've ever been tossed from the Pensieve quite so hositiley before." Dumbledore rasped, sitting up and straigtening his glasses. He looked over at Snape. "Severus we could take your memory from that evening, as well, but I'm afraid it probably won't offer us much insight since you were not in the corridor when the event took place." He stood, dusted off his ornate robes, and reclaimed the seat behind his desk. "But just to be sure, you're _certain_ you saw nothing?"

"Yes, Headmaster, of that I am certain." Snape uttered lifelessly, as he also regained his seat. A thought crossed his mind and he squinted up at Dumbledore. "Perhaps if I tried Legilimens? "

"Ah, it's a novel idea, Severus. Sadly, you would only see the same scenario we just witnessed. The only difference is that you would understand Hermione's own thoughts...which she has already disclosed to us. Also, I would be required to return the full memory to Miss Granger, and at the moment, I would like to keep it in my Penseive for further review...just in case. That is, if you don't mind, Hermione."

She certainly did not mind. She was rather relieved to be free of the memory. She still had the memory of _watching the memory_, so it was still there...but the pain she felt during the initial attack was something she now could no longer recall. She shook her head to show Dumbledore that he could keep the awful recollection as long as he wanted.

"I'm sorry that we weren't able to solve this problem immediately," Albus lamented, "but I assure you Miss Granger, we will _get_ to the bottom of it."

"Thank you, Professor," was all she managed to say. She knew he had done all he could, but it didn't stop her from feeling a little disappointed.

"In the meantime, I suggest that you both stick close together." Dumbledore spoke softly to Hermione. "Your attacker will not know about this meeting, and therefore will not be know that Professor Snape is well aware of what has happened. He is highly trained in defense tactics and will prove to be your best ally during this time." He looked over at Snape. "And you, Severus, are to remain on constant watch over Miss Granger. Normally, I would suggest that Harry keep a close eye on her, but perhaps this time it would be best if he kept his focus elsewhere. The boy already has enough to deal with as it is."

"Yes, Headmaster." Snape gave a short, respectful bow. "Three evenings out of the week have already been set aside for Miss Granger's apprentice work with myself. How do you suggest I keep a close watch on her during the remaining four nights?"

"I will leave that for the two of you to decide," Albus answered, patting Hermione lightly on the shoulder. "How are the apprentice lessons going so far?"

"Quite well," Snape answered before Hermione could speak. "Miss Granger has proven herself worthy of my talents." He raised an eyebrow and..._there it was again._..that wicked smile that unnerved her.

"Hermione?" Dumbledore urged her to answer his previous question.

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore. I am learning quite a lot." She wasn't really sure how to answer. Right now her brain was too busy still trying to process the fact that Snape had suddenly become her full time body-guard, whether she liked it or not. She certainly hoped that all in all, it would be the former.

"Excellent, indeed." Albus patted her on the shoulder once more. "Now that we've worked out this much, I suggest you both get on to your classes." He turned to faced Hermione directly, put both hands on her shoulders, and softly spoke. "Don't you worry about a thing, Hermione. We will catch whoever did this to you, mark my words. I am leaving you in the hands of someone who I have the utmost trust and respect for in this school. Professor Snape, although a hard-nosed teacher, has nothing but your best interest in mind. Trust him, Hermione. Trust him as though your life depended on it." She returned Dumbledore's strong look and nodded.

"I will, Professor Dumbledore."

"Right then. Now I must insist that you go to class. Minerva will begin asking questions if you show up late, and it's best that this situation remain between the three of us for now."

"Yes, Professor." Hermione shouldered her bag and began walking down the spiral staircase. When she reached the bottom she looked up at Dumbledore, still in his office, and called up, "thank you for all you are doing." When she saw him nod, she excited his office and made her way to Transfiguration class.

When Dumbledore turned back, he saw that Professor Snape had moved over to the window and was staring dazedly out across the grounds.

"Severus...I get the feeling you're not telling me something." Snape didn't turn around, instead he just continued gazing out the window. "Severus...I need you to talk to me. What happened...what happened to Hermione...it wasn't your fault. There's no way you could have known. There's nothing you could have done." Snape still kept his focus far away from the moment. His mind was heavy with guilt and confusion. Guilt for what happened to the girl, confusion for why he cared so damned much.

"Albus," he said softly. "Why do you trust me?"

"Severus, I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

"Look at me, Albus." Snape finally turned to face him. "I am the most hated person in this school. I joined ranks with the most vile wizard in history. I've tortured people." His face suddenly darkened. "I've _killed_ people...and yet...you trust me."

"You have also _saved_ people."

"Albus, you know as well as I that saving a life doesn't make up for taking one."

"Severus Snape, I would trust you with my own life. I have my reasons and do not need to explain them. You are an honorable man who has made mistakes. I've told you time after time that in my eyes you are completely forgiv..."

"I've had some disturbing dreams." Snape said sharply, cutting Dumbledore off mid-sentence. The man loved dancing around his questions. He wondered if this was how Dumbledore talked to Potter. "...and in one I'm standing over a dead body." Dumbledore didn't seem to flinch like Snape had thought he would. Instead, he just seemed intently interested.

"When?"

"Last night, after I discovered what had happened with Miss Granger."

"Do you think this dream is a premonition, Severus?" The question irritated him to the core. He hated this. He hated how Dumbledore always made him solve his own problems by asking a series of probing psychological questions.

"I don't know." He said sourly. "But for all of our sakes, I sure as hell hope not." Suddenly he wanted to leave. He was sure Albus's next question would be 'and how does that make you feel?' Ugh.

"Follow your instincts. Your mind holds more secrets than you can imagine, but in order to unlock them, you mustn't read too deeply." Dumbledore said matter-of-factly. Snape stood gaping at him. _What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean? Honestly, I wonder sometimes why I even bother coming to him for advice. It's like talking to a sodding sphinx._

"Right. Well, I'll be sure to uh...look into that." He swooped around toward the spiral staircase. "I must be getting to class. Wouldn't want to rob those brilliant minds of an education."

"Severus, there's one last thing." Snape stopped and gave him a look the clearly said _what now? _

"I think you know what I am referring to."_ Again, with the non-direct answers. _But Dumbledore was right, he knew.

"The girl?" Snape answered pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers, squeezing his eyes shut. He suddenly felt a headache coming on.

"Yes, Severus. _The girl._ You have to protect her." Dumbledore returned to his seat behind the desk. "I think you are the only one who can."

Snape nodded silently, in an almost dazed-like state. Without another word he turned and cascaded down the stairs and out of the Headmaster's office. He didn't know why, but somehow he knew that Albus had been right. He _was _the only one who could help her.

Problem is...he didn't know _why._

_

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I am sooooooo sooooooooo sooooooooo sorry this chapter took so long to get out. I've been traveling around visitng family for the Holidays and I also just started a new job, so my freetime has been considerably lower. I hope to update MUCH sooner next time. Please read and review if you get the chance. I'm excited to know what you think. Also special thanks to Kelly for her encouragement! I really needed it!  
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	13. Chapter 13 Discoveries

_Once again, a HUGE thank-you goes out to KellyRoxton! You are my Muse darlin'! _

_Disclaimer: I DO NOT own these characters, nor do I claim to. They are the property of JKR. I'm just using them for my own hysterical fantasy world._

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Snape was happy to get out of Dumbledore's office. In fact, it was the first time he'd felt happy all morning. He dreaded going down to his first class of the day. Fifty minutes with a room full of third year Gryffindors and Slytherins would just about put him over the edge...and at this point, he wasn't far from it. His mind kept wandering back to Hermione Granger. Something about her was different this year. She hadn't been acting like the obnoxinous know-it-all that he'd remembered. This didn't mean that she still wasn't as hard-headed and determined as always, but her demeanor had changed. Not only that, his attitude had changed toward her, as well. He thought back to the first day of classes when she had set fire to her desk and spilled her assignment all over his robes. He hadn't even yelled at her. If Potter or Weasley had done it...well, they'd be scouring cauldrons until their children were in Hogwarts. Her potion _had_ been perfect, afterall, even if most of it was lost in the spill._ She's my student...that's all. No...no...She's my apprentice. How am I going to keep her safe? It's not like I can follow her everywhere. I have things to do, people to see. Okay, well not _many_ people to see, but I am extremely busy! That's the entire reason behind my needing an apprentice in the first place!_ His famous scowl began to creep into the features of his face. He didn't need this. He stomped down the hall, sulking in full force, when he noticed that a student was wandering about. There was nothing like admonishing a student to lift Snape's spirits. 

"And just what exactly do you think you're doing wandering the halls during morning classes?" He drawled. Snape was finally back in his element, a great black hawk stalking his prey. He eyed the patch on her robes and spoke again before she had the chance to answer. "I believe that will be Ten points from Ravenclaw."

The ruby-haired girl stood motionless, except for the few times she blinked her vivid green eyes.

"Apparently you didn't hear my question." Snape bent so that his hooked nose was millimeters from her own. "Why..are...you...out...of...class?" His tone was slow, yet deliberate. Although on the outside he appeared excrutiatingly angry, he was actually insanely giddy. This was going to be a point-slashing-fest for sure. Gryffindor's may have been his number one choice for brow beating, but Ravenclaws were not far behind.

Still, she did not answer. She appeared extremely calm and unnerved by the whole scene. The giddiness in him began to mix with a hint of anger.

"I will not ask you again, Miss..." he realized he hadn't any idea who the student standing before him was. It's not that he ever tried to remember each and every idiot that passed through his classes, but he generally could recall their names.

"Murphey." She finally spoke. Snape thought for a moment. A small part of him was shocked that she hadn't said Weasley.

"Well, Miss Murphey?" He whispered menacingly. He saw a stubbornness rising steadily behind her eyes. Even though it was subtle, he could see her eyes narrow ever-so-slightly.

"Perhaps someone should ask the same of you." Her response stole his own speech for a moment. He dog-paddled mentally, trying to stay on top of the situation. The petulant redhead lowered her shoulders and stormed past and around the corner. Snape hadn't reached his bearings in enough time to stop her. Instead, he stood gaping, mouth opening and closing like a fish desperate to go back in the water.

"FIFTY POINTS FROM RAVENCLAW!" He roared, but may as well been screaming to the stone floor beneath his feet. She was gone.

_Great. Bloody great. The one small bit of happiness in my day, and it goes terribly wrong. How dare a student speak to me in such an ill manner...only Potter had ever been defiant enough to talk to me with such a lack of respect! No matter, no matter. Ravenclaw will be rather disappointed when they discover the cantankerous girl has cost them a considerable amount of housepoints._

One thing was for sure, however. Miss Fiona Murphey would never want to have another run-in alone with Snape ever again.

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A few minutes before Transfiguration class began, Hermione ran into the classroom with her eyes peeled for Harry. She was now thankful that Ron had decided not to take Transfiguration this year, only for the fact that she wanted to talk to Harry alone today. He would be sympathetic (she hoped)...Ron would just be a prat. She knew full well that neither of them liked Snape, but Harry had grown up a bit more than Ron, and was usually much more willing to look at both sides of each situation before making any rash decisions.

When she spotted Harry, she sidled up next to him. Perhaps, one of the greatest perks (among many) of McGonagall's Seventh Year Transfiguration class was that there was no assigned seating. Not that it mattered all that much, she always seemed to sit next to Harry.

"Hey." She said as she sat.

"Oh hey. How did your meeting with Dumbledore go? If you don't mind my asking."

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk with you about." She fiddled with the clasp on her schoolbag, not knowing exactly where to begin. "Harry, I...I haven't been completely honest with you the past few days." She was afraid to look at him. He had always told her everything, and here she was, hiding some of the most crucial points in her life from him.

"What do you mean, Hermione?"

"Promise you won't get mad?" She chewed on her lip, eyebrows cinching into a soft plea. Harry responded with a look that clearly showed he could never be mad at her, no matter what. Hermione prayed that he meant it.

"Okay...well. Well you see...it's about..." Merlin's beard, this was going to be harder than she thought.

"Hermione, just tell me. It can't be all _that_ terrible..._can it?_"

"That depends on what you consider terrible."

"Well the way I see it, you have two choices. You can either tell me what you were lying about, or you can choose not to. Either way, I won't be mad at you. Although, I must admit, I would very much like to know the truth about whatever it is that's bothering you." Harry placed his forehead on hers and looked her in the eye. "You are like a sister to me, Hermione. I only want what's best for you, but you have to _talk_ to me." He then sat back in order to allow her some space.

"Thank you, Harry." She felt warm tears pricking up behind her eyes, but battled furiously to stop them. The last thing she needed was to start crying. She braced herself for the coming conversation but she was going to have to wait a bit longer. McGonagall had just begun the lecture in class. They pretended to take notes, patiently awaiting the moment when Professor McGonagall would allow the students to practice their spells on each other. Today they were learning how to transfigure their shoes into candlesticks that were already lit. Harry succeeded in setting his big toe on fire on his first attempt. Hermione quickly doused out the flames with a short stream of water from the tip of her wand.

"Harry...you have to _remove_ your shoe before doing the spell!" Hermione playfully chided. She examined his foot more closely. "Lucky you, I expect your toe will be just fine."

Both of them looked around the classroom, and realized that everyone, including McGonagall, was deeply involved in their activities. Now was as good a time as any to resume their earlier conversation. Harry watched as Hermione flawlessly transfigured her shoe into a long white candlestick with barely any effort. He may have been the brave one, but there was no denying that Hermione was the most talented when it came to spells. He couldn't imagine that whatever she was hiding from him could be all that bad. Hermione tended to walk the straight and narrow path. He decided to press on.

"Would you like to tell me what was on your mind earlier?" He sat on a stool and removed his burned shoe.

"Oh that. I was kind of hoping you had forgotten," she whispered.

"I'm afraid not. You said you had lied to me about something...I promise I won't get angry."

"Look, Harry." Hermione watched the flame flicker on her candle. "I never said I lied. I just said I hadn't been entirely honest." She set her candle on the table and turned it back into a mary jane. "It's about my detentions with Snape..."

"I still can't believe he's forcing you to have detention three nights a week for the rest of term! It's unjust! All you did was spill a potion on his robes, it's not like you were caught cheating or anything." Harry said defiantly in a very loud whisper.

"See, that's just it. He _didn't_."

"What? But you did last night! Plus, you were attacked down there after talking with Snape about your detentions, you said so yourself!"

"Harry, I have been going down to see Snape, but not for detention." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm his...I'm his...his..."

"HIS WHAT!" Harry bellowed. Everyone in class seemed to stop what they were doing and stared at him. Hermione felt like fainting.

"_Mr._ Potter, is there a problem?" Professor McGonagall asked curtly.

"No, ma'am," he answered coyly.

"Then might I suggest you keep your outbursts to a minimum level!" She turned back to help Seamus Finnigan who had, once again, managed to set his own eyebrows on fire. He seemed to do it at least twice a year.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Harry, silently fuming. Perhaps telling Harry was going to be a mistake afterall.

"You said you wouldn't get angry!" She spat.

"I'm _not_ angry, Hermione! But if you're about to say-what-I-hope-you-are-not-going-to-say-then-I-have-to-say..." all of his words jumbled together.

"Harry what are you saying?" She asked scowling. Harry leaned foward, eyes widening. He spoke in an almost inaudible whisper.

"Well, you've been going down to see Snape late at night, you lied about it, and now you keep thinking I'll be angry when I find out...I mean, honestly Hermione, what would you expect me to think?" He so hoped he was wrong. Hermione looked at him for moment when realization slowly dawned on her face. _He thinks I'm some sort of Mistress to Snape? Oh good Lord!_ She couldn't help but laugh. Was Harry Potter really this thick?

"Harry! I'm his apprentice! That's all...I'm just his apprentice!" Suddenly telling the truth didn't seem so difficult after discovering what he thought.

"A--Apprentice? You mean, you are just helping out with potions? But why? Snape doesn't seem the type to want an assistant."

"It was Dumbledore's suggestion, actually. Now that Snape is teaching both Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions, he's been falling behind on the healing potion stores for Madame Pomfrey, so I'm learning how to make them. Also, I'm getting University credit for my work." She said matter-of-factly.

"Why were you so afraid to tell me that?"

"I just know that Snape isn't your favorite Professor, and I was afraid you would think I was some sort of traitor...or worse, a demented teacher's pet. I had to tell you though, in case you wondered why I would be spending so much more time with Snape, and less time with you and Ron. That's another issue, too. Please don't tell Ron. He can be such a prat sometimes, and I know he will give me grief for it if he finds out."

"You have my word." Harry placed a hand on her shoulder and put his forehead against hers once again. "Hermione, please don't be afraid to tell me anything." She smiled back, but it wasn't completely genuine. McGonagall dismissed the class and Harry and Hermione descended the stairs together. He was pleased that he knew her secret, but she didn't feel entirely as relieved of her burden. She'd left out the part about Snape also being her psuedo-bodyguard. She figured that conversation would have to wait until another time, if at all.  
They parted ways at the fourth floor staircase and said their goodbyes.

On her way to Arithmancy class, she quietly mused to herself about Harry's misinterpretation. _Snape's Mistress. Can you imagine? Me...Hermione Granger, the innocent bookworm, knocking boots with the Potions Master._ She giggled loudly. How ridiculous. _Well, it isn't all that unimaginable...he is established, intelligent, and a lot more gentle than most people realize...wait...what am I thinking?_ She shook her head and walked into class. Clearly she was going out of her mind. She took her seat and opened her book, but as Professor Vector began today's lesson, Hermione couldn't help but let her mind wander to a mental list of the positive things that made up the mysterious Severus Snape.

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_I'm am sooooo tired:) The Holidays are great, but boy they are sure draining. Anyway! I hope you liked this chapter, and again, I apologize for it's delay (only 9 days...c'mon, that's not _too_ bad, right?) Keep the reviews coming! I'm almost to 100! I'm also I didn't get a change to respond to your reviews from Chapter 12, yet. Believe me, I do read each and every one of them, so tell me what you think! Okay, enough babbling. Until next time, I remain your most humble TelevisionDiva :)_  



	14. Chapter 14 Out Cold

_Disclaimer: I DO NOT own these characters, nor do I claim to. They are the property of JKR. I'm just using them for my own hysterical fantasy world._

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Hermione arrived in the dungeons promptly at 8:00. She saw Snape duck out of the Great Hall early, during the evening meal, so she assumed he would already be in the classroom waiting for her to arrive. 

She was wrong...the classroom was empty.

Uneasiness seemed to filter through her body faster than she would have liked, even though she knew it was just anxiety. She didn't like being alone in the dungeons so late at night for obvious reasons and, in her nervous state, every sound was magnified. She could hear water trickling down the damp walls, the steady swoop of the giant pedulum swinging in the massive marble clock down the hall, and loudest of all, her own rapidly increasing heartbeat in her chest. _Where is he?_

She checked her watch: 8:02. She worried her bottom lip and began pacing behind his desk. If anyone came in to get her, she could just hide under it...or at least that's what she told herself. _Some bloody bodyguard...he can't even seem to show up for his own lessons on time._ Desperate to find something to occupy her anxious mind, Hermione began wandering through the various books scattered across Snape's desk. _"Perfectly Proper Potions for Students", "Common Magical Ailments and Afflictions", "One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi", "The Oxford Anthology of Poetry", "Moste Potente Potions"...wait a minute..._

She reached over and nabbed the poetry book. It was rather thick with burgundy binding. She trailed her fingers across the deepset gold lettering marking the title. Thumbing through it, she realized the pages were quite worn, and that the book had been poured through many times. She quietly wondered if Snape was the original owner of the book or if he had simply nicked it from an unfortunate student who may have been reading it during class. A small part of her really wanted to believe the former. She gently pushed the book back to its original spot, hoping he wouldn't notice she had moved anything.

Checking her watch once again she saw that it was 8:07 and let out a deep sigh. _Has he forgotten? _Hermione plopped into Snape's deskchair, laid her headback and stared at the ceiling. It wasn't nearly as entertaining as the enchanted ceiling in the Great Hall, but at least she could count the cracks in it to pass the time. She had reached 44 cracks when she heard a loud **_SLAM _**in the hallway. Before a sane thought had the chance to enter her mind, she jumped up from the chair and dove under the large slate desk, trembling. She could hear footsteps...someone was coming in the room. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears as the person drew closer.

_Please be Professor Snape, Pleeaase be Professor Snape, _she chanted under her breath as she drew her knees up to her chin.

She wondered what or who could have possibly caused the loud noise. The footsteps sounded right next to the desk and then stopped. She heard a male voice growl in disgust and knew immediately that it was Snape's. She poked her head gingerly out from under the desk just to make sure, and spotted the edge of Snape's robes. Sliding out feet first, she pushed herself foward with her palms. This proved to be a big mistake. Mere inches from freedom she heard Snape shout "STUPEFY!", and she saw a red jet of light shoot from the tip of his wand and then...blackness.

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Hermione felt like she was at the bottom of a well. All the sounds around her echoed loudly in her ears and she felt very cold. When she looked up, she could see a faint amount of light, but couldn't seem to focus on anything past it. She sincerely hoped that the light she was seeing wasn't _**the** white light_ that would take her to the other side.

"Miss Granger...Miss Granger...can you hear me?" The familiar voice reverberated eerily in her head.

Hermione tried to speak, but found that her lips weren't mobile.

"Miss Granger...try to sit up."

_I am trying to sit up!_ She protested, but no sound escaped her mouth.

"Hermione! Sit up!" The voice grew more demanding. "You need to sit foward!"

She blinked her eyes several times. _My eyelids work! I can move my eyelids!_ That was progress enough for her. Sitting up was just going to have to wait.

"Hermione Granger I demand that you sit-up this instant!"

Recognition clicked in her head finally. She knew that voice. It was Snape's. She rolled her head lethargically to once side and tried to talk again, but the only sound that came out sounded more like an obnoxious yawn. She was too tired to try again. _Just five more minutes, Mum. I just want to sleep for five more minutes._ Her eyes slid shut, not that it really mattered, she couldn't focus on anything when they were open.

"MISS GRANGER! HERMIONE!" Snape's voice became even more insistant. She felt like smacking him, but her arms woudn't work. Instead, she just decided to stay where she was...this was much more comfortable anyway.

Suddenly, she felt two strong hands grab her shoulders and force her to a sitting position. A cold bottle was being pushed against her lips and after a moment she felt liquid in her mouth. It didn't taste terrible, but it didn't taste good either. Her mouth was full of liquid, but she couldn't quite think of what to do with it.

"Swallow...you have to swallow it." He sounded a lot more gentle this time. It was almost as if he was reading her thoughts.

She concentrated with all of her being and swallowed the strange potion. Immediately, she felt her body tingle, like she had just swallowed a bottle of pure liquid electricity. She saw bright blue and purple lights for a brief second and then her vision finally came in to focus. The first thing she saw was a very concerned looking Severus Snape on his knees, kneeling in front of her.

"Nice of you to finally join me." A slight smile appeared on his face, but the concerned look never left his eyes. He reached for her hand and pulled her to a standing position, albeit a wobbly one. Here head lolled a bit, but she was definitely getting her bearings back.

"This seems to be coming quite a trend..." she whispered, still trying to find her voice.

"I'm sorry?"

"Me, getting knocked flat in the dungeons." Hermione rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hand and propped herself against the desk. This was simply unbelievable. Snape had obviously mistaken her as the enemy. She could hardly blame him, really. If she had witnessed someone sneaking out from under _her_ desk, she really didn't doubt that she would have done the same thing.

"Are...are you all right?" Snape asked timidly. The deep lines in his brow illustrated to Hermione how sorry he was. She nodded. Even though she was certainly shaken up, she really wasn't in any severe pain. "You must understand...I was...well you...you startled me, and with what has recently happened, I felt I needed to protect myself." He offered her his desk chair and eased her into it. "What were you doing _under _my desk, anyway?"

"Same as you, I guess. I was protecting myself. I heard a loud noise in the hall, and before I had a chance to process anything, I dove under it. I kind of feel like an idiot now." Hermione didn't want to look at him. To hide her embarassment, she picked at her cuticles with her thumb, although the distraction only served to prove how embarassed she really was.

"No, you did the right thing. I'm sorry I wasn't in here at the proper time. I'm sorry if you were frightened." Much like the other night, Snape removed his outer cloak and placed it on her shoulders. This time, however, he had a very hard time convincing himself that it was for her benefit. Part of him knew quite well that it may have actually been more for his own. All the same, she did look a bit chilled. Hermione drew the cloak in around herself, thankful for the gesture.

"Why were you so late? I was beginning to think that you had forgotten." She said, not masking the evident hurt in her tone.

"I honestly hadn't realized that so much time had passed. I've been in the storeroom looking for the ingredients to make tonight's potion, and it seems as if I am missing something that I only aquired today. I'm afraid to say, that loud noise you must be speaking of, was me slamming the storeroom cabinet shut. I tend to have a slight bit of an anger management problem..." His last words brought a sly smile to his face.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Hermione smirked slightly. She liked that she could tease him. The boys would never understand or even _believe_ that Snape could actually be playful. "So what are we going to work on tonight if you don't have all the ingredients?"

"I'm not quite sure, actually. Poppy really needs the _Expergefacio_ potion soon. Quidditch season is fast approaching, and what with all those idiots getting smacked in the head with bludgers, she's going to need all she can get." He quirked an eyebrow and then said, "of course, we could just prevent the Gryffindor team members from using any, and then we would have no worries." Hermione just rolled her eyes. In class it would have lost her house points and gained her a detention...here it just quickened the smile that was already forming on Snape's face.

"What exactly is the _Expergefacio _potion, anyway?"

"Why, Hermione Granger, I've actually mentioned something that you don't already know? Please mark this one down for the record books." He reached over her and took a small bottle off the shelf behind the chair she was sitting in. "The _Expergefacio _potion is "the awaking" drought. It's best used to rouse those who are semi-conscious...or those who have been maimed by bludgers."

"How quickly does it take effect?" She asked, taking the bottle from him.

"Why don't _you _tell me?" He crossed his arms and leaned back awaiting her response. When she didn't answer, he nodded to the spot on the floor where she was, only moments ago, knocked out. She scrunched her face and look back at him.

"You mean...that's what you just gave me?" The brown bottle in her hand was three-quarters of the way empty and unstoppered. She held it to the light and swirled the remaining contents, scrutinizing it.

"Yes. Lucky for you, I just happened to have some on me as an example for tonight's lesson." He took the bottle back from her.

"You mean, lucky for _you_. You're the one who _stupefied_ me." She said through pursed lips.

"Either way, Miss Granger, we were both fortunate. Now our only problem is, we can't make anymore, because it seems I am missing on of the main ingredients." He walked over to the store shelf in the back of the classroom, checking it one final time. He turned back and started to say something, then stopped, seemingly debating something with himself. He walked over to his desk and rumaged through the two side drawers...sighed loudly, then quickly looked back to Hermione.

"How would you like to take an unscheduled field trip to Hogsmeade? Prior's Potions Shoppe is open until 9:00, and if we apparate from outside the gates, we could be there and back in less than 25 minutes. I trust you have your apparating license?"

"Yes...I do, but..." Hermione began hesitantly.

"I promise you will never leave my sight and that I will protect you at all costs, Miss Granger."

"Okay...but what will the other students think?"

"The other students, Miss Granger, do not need to know." He sat on his desk, facing her. "Besides, I think it would be quite beneficial for you to see the inside of a genuine potions shop. Accompanied by me, you will be granted access to store rooms not available to the public. Consider it educational." He waited for her rebuttle, but when she said nothing, he stood and crossed in front of the desk. She stood to follow him, and started to take off his cloak to hand it back to him. "No, it's damp outside from the rain earlier today. I suggest you wear it for our journey."

Shrugging her shoulders, she refastened the cloak and followed him out of the dungeons. They made there way out of the castle and down the grounds to the gates in silence. It wasn't that they didn't want to talk to one another...it's just that they had nothing to really talk about. That is, nothing to talk about that wasn't horribly depressing. Sure, Hermione could bring up the fact that she was terrified to be alone, and that she couldn't even confide the entire truth about everything to her two best friends. Sure, Snape could tell Hermione about his awful dreams and how he suspected they had some connection to her brutal attack. Yet, those things were best left unsaid, for the moment...both just seemed to revel in the stillness that surrounded the Hogwarts grounds. For just this once, things seemed right in the world.

This of course, brought less depressing thoughts to mind. However, Hermione couldn't possibly tell Snape how she had made a mental list of his good qualities during Arithmancy class, or how after Harry accused her of committing _"extra credit" _with Snape, that she didn't find it all that horrible sounding. In the same light, Snape didn't dare tell Hermione how high he had recently reguarded her as a person (not just a student), or how he became ridiculously intoxicated with her light scent on his cloak...enough that he wanted her to wear it again tonight. No...no these were things that were best left alone. And so they were, as the two walked on in the moonlight.

Once they reached the gates, Severus pushed them open and allowed Hermione to pass through first. It was a small gesture, but Hermione took note of it. She also took note of how he took her hand and led her down the steep hill, so she wouldn't lose her balance. With every minute, there was a new surprise in this misunderstood man. The silence was finally broken when Snape gave her instructions on where to arrive.

"We'll apparate outside the Three Broomsticks, since it's a spot we will both be able to focus on that's near people...just in case. Neither of us is quite sure what you are up against and when or where they might strike next. It's best to arrive safely. Prior's Potions Shoppe is two roads over and down the alley." He then reached for her hand and laced his fingers between hers. As much as it confused her to think about it, Hermione liked the way his warm hand felt intertwined with her own. It was a welcomed feeling...one of safety and security, that she so desperately needed right now. "I think it's best that we hold on to each other so that we apparate instantaneously. I wouldn't want to risk a split second of leaving you alone, either here or there. Now on the count of three...one...two...thr..." and with a pop, they both vanished.

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**expergefacio - Latin- to ****awaken , rouse, excite.

* * *

**_Hope everyone is having a good Holiday...I know mine has been exciting...(especially when the washing maching broke and the husband and I were standing ankle deep in water on Christmas Eve!) Haha, but it seems as though Snape and Hermione are getting on quite well, don't you think? Perhaps he should take her for a drink in Hogsmeade...I dunno...you guys tell me if he should or not! I await your responses! (Seriously guys, you gotta help me! Haha! I get SO bored at work, it's such a nice ray of sunshine when I get a message saying I've gotten a new review! Yay for sunshine!) Tell me what you want to see happen if you aren't getting enough satisfaction. I aim to please :) Okay, until next time, I remain, your ever diligent TelevisionDiva. (Oh one last thing, I'm working on another fic that is completely different from this one. As soon as it's ready to go, I'll let you know!)_  



	15. Chapter 15 I Wanna Hold Your Hand

_Disclaimer: I DO NOT own these characters, nor do I claim to. They are the property of JKR. I'm just using them for my own hysterical fantasy world._

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Hermione still hadn't gotten used to the feeling of apparating. She'd only learned to do it last year, and never really had the opportunity to do it much after that. (This summer at the Burrow, Ron and Harry had a ball apparating across the lawn as fast as they could, trying to beat one another, but Hermione usually just sat with Ginny watching the two make fools of themselves.) She found herself mentally repeating: _destination, deliberation, and determination,_ because she really didn't want to risk splinching herself in front of Snape. When they reached the count of three she could feel Snape's fingers grip her own even tighter. It was very hard to breath as the pressure of travel closed in around her. Once when she was a child she and her parents had taken an airplane ride to Ireland. Upon landing she felt as if her eardrums would burst. Instantly, she was reminded of that most uncomfortable feeling as she and Snape twisted through the blackness towards Hogsmeade. 

At last, there was a large _CRACK,_ and Hermione found herself standing outside The Three Broomsticks hand in hand with Professor Severus Snape. It was quite windy out, which made her extremely grateful for his cloak, but even more grateful for the warm hand that was currently wrapped around her own. She was sure he would let go at any second, so she didn't bother to pull away first. Instead, she chose a non-descript patch of grass on the ground to keep her interest. Snape quickly assessed her with his eyes and spoke.

"I take it we have both made it here in one piece," he said, smiling...still holding her hand.

"Yes, so it seems." Suddenly she felt like being playful...or at least testing _his_ playful side. "Although, one might wonder if perhaps you may have splinched yourself in the journey."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes...yes I think so. It seems as though you have splinched your sour temperament _completely_ from your being, and now it must currently be floating bodiless somewhere within the dungeons of Hogwarts." She studied him as he narrowed his eyes at her. "Oh, I do hope some poor, unsuspecting student doesn't have the terrible misfortune of meeting the disembodied emotion as it roams the halls searching for its home." She looked deadly serious and made a _tsk-tsk-tsk_ sound with her mouth.

"Save the cheek, Miss Granger. Just because we are not in class, does _not_ mean that I cannot deduct house points or proffer detentions." He began walking down the cobblestone road toward their destination, pulling her along the way.

"Is that a threat?" She yelped, trying her best to keep up with his long strides, so that she wouldn't wind up being dragged down the street.

"I don't make threats," he called behind his shoulder, increasing his speed. Hermione forced her legs into a sprint so that she was keeping pace with him as they navigated the darkened streets of Hogsmeade. She'd only ever been here during the day in the company of many other students. At night, it was a much different setting. There were a handful of drunken wizards occupying various dark corners and curbs, and a very haggard looking witch, who Hermione could have sworn, was a prostitute. When she and Severus rounded that particular corner, the strumpet decided to pipe up.

"Aye, I see yeh've got yer own enta'tainmen' tonigh', eh Sev'rus?" She tossed her wild head back and cackled loudly. "Looks a lil bit of a young filly, if yeh ask me..."

"No one is asking you, Gertie." Snape hissed before yanking Hermione closer to his side. When he saw the horrified reaction on her sweet face he immediately responded. "I wouldn't touch that wretched woman with a ten foot pole."

"How do you know her?"

"Perhaps you should ask Draco Malfoy's father that question. He's the only person I've ever known to actually _make friends_ with Dirty Gertie. The loathsome idiot."

"Excuse me, but did you just refer to that vile woman as _Dirty Gertie_?" Hermione was beside herself. She didn't know whether to laugh or faint. Here she was being dragged through the streets of Hogsmeade by a Potions Master she once thought of as a terror, and now he was referring to street urchins with comical names. Not to mention that he'd opened up some very personal information about Lucius Malfoy to her. This certainly wasn't your typical Teacher/Student outing. Snape stopped in his tracks with a rather irritated look on his face. He watched Hermione for a slight second and then cracked a grin.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did. I suppose you think that's inappropriate behavior, hmm Miss Granger?"

"Not anymore inappropriate than the fact you've been holding my hand since we got outside the gates of Hogwarts." She flexed her fingers around his. Snape glanced down at their hands and flexed his fingers in response.

"I just don't want you getting lost." He then turned his face back toward their destination and marched on, pulling Hermione along with him.

After a few more meters, a small shop came into view. It looked like an old worn down cottage and had a moldy signboard swinging from a rusted out mount, that read "Prior's Potions Shoppe" in cracked yellow and blue paint. Hermione surmised that sign was most likely older than she and Snape put together. Leaning his shoulder on the door, Snape pushed his way into the shop, still pulling her along with him. Once they crossed the threshold, however, he released her hand for the first time in nearly 15 minutes. Unbeknownst to the other, each felt a slight disappointment as they broke contact.

Snape approached a hunched over and balding old man behind the counter. When he saw him drawing closer, the old man tweaked the glasses at the tip of his nose and scrutinized the patron standing before him. After a few beats he nodded.

"Ah, Severus! So good to see you. What is it that I may assist you with this evening?"

"I'm actually in need of some fresh Boomslang Skin."

The old man seemed quite surprised at the the order.

"Already? I could have sworn that I had sent you some fresh, only this morning! I assumed you had received it, because my owl returned with payment." The old man tapped the tip of his quill on a ledger scroll. "See? It says 'paid in full' right here."

"Yes, Patimous, I did receive it with the post this morning. However, it seems as though I've..erm, _misplaced_ it." Snape scowled, drumming his fingers on the counter. The old man smiled even broader.

"I see you're having the same old trouble with students pilfering from the classroom stores, eh? As long as you are a teacher, students will continue to be the same every year, Severus my boy." Patimous turned around and pointed his wand at a box on the top shelf and muttered _accio_. The box fell into his hand and he turned and set it on the counter. "I feel you will find this to your liking."

Snape opened the box and examined the boomslang skin inside. It was absolutely perfect. He reached into the pocket of his robes and produced a handful of Galleons. The old man simply shook his head and waved him off.

"Your money is no good here tonight, Severus. Consider it a pity gift from me, for you having to put up with all of those students day in and day out." The old man then peered over his glasses at Hermione. "Who is this breathtaking young lady, might I ask?" His eyes twinkled in the same manner Dumbledore's did.

"Forgive me, I'm terrible with introductions. This, Patimous, is Hermione Granger...my apprentice. Hermione Granger, meet Patimous Prior, the owner of this shop."

"Been in my family for centuries," Patimous added.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Prior. You have a very lovely shop." She curtsied slightly and smiled.

"Thank you, dear. Would you perhaps like a tour?" Hermione nodded. "Great! I will let Severus show you around, then. I have ledgers to go over before I close up tonight, and he knows this place just as well as myself." He turned to look at Snape and then pointed to the rickety wooden loft above them. "Why don't you start by showing her the herb stores upstairs? I'm sure that is where you will find most of the ingredients you'll need for classroom type potions."

"Actually, Patimous, we are working on medicinal potions. Might I show her to the restricted stores in the cellar?"

"Oh! Fine, fine. Mind your head though, that first step is a bit too close to the ceiling!"

"Yes, I know it well," Snape said sourly, recalling the first time nearly ten years ago, when he had walloped himself good in the forehead, skulking down those stairs.

Once again, he found himself reaching for Hermione's small hand to lead her smoothly down the stairs. He liked the way her slender fingers felt inside his own large hand. Her skin was smooth and soft, very unlike his own, which was calloused and rough. Her fingernails were painted an innocent pink with little chips missing here and there, most likely worn away from overuse of her quill, or simply the nervous habit of biting her nails. As they descended the stairs, Snape could feel Hermione grow tense. It was then that he decided to make small talk in order to help her relax.

"So, what do you think of ol' Patimous Prior?"

"Oh, he seems nice. I really don't know enough yet to say too much, though. But, yes, he seems extremely nice."

"The Prior's have been well known amongst the wizarding community for centuries. They have quite possibly the best Potion ingredient stores in the entire western world. But to talk to any of the Priors, you wouldn't know it. Humblest lot you'll ever meet. Take my word when I say they are good people."

They had reached the bottom of the stairs, and Snape was slightly relieved that he could now end the small talk. Instead he could use this time to actually teach her something. Hermione had never seen so many interesting things in her life. The cellar was teaming with shelves and shelves and shelves of various roots, vermin, bugs, and other oddities in jars. Somethings repulsed her, but most simply fascinated her. She felt like a child in a toy store, because as they walked through the isles, she found herself wanting to touch and play with everything within her reach. Every now and then she would stop and ask Snape questions about various things she saw...and he seemed more than eager to offer her the answers. Continuing to hold her hand, he led her through the labyrinth of supplies. Once they had completed the circle and met up with the staircase again, they ascended back into the main area of the shop.

"How was the tour, Miss?" Old man prior asked when he saw them return.

"Wonderful!" Hermione exclaimed. "I never would have imagined that a potion's shop could contain so much. I have to admit, my brain may be on a bit of an overload." She giggled and smiled for Prior.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. You are welcome here anytime, young lady. Any friend of Severus's is a friend of mine."

"Well, we really must get going," Snape said, glancing at the clock on the shop counter. "Thank you for the boomslang skin. You really didn't have to go to such troub..."

"Think nothing of it, Severus." The old man shook his head and waved them goodbye as they exited the shop. Hermione looked as if she had just stepped off cloud nine, meanwhile Snape looked fidgety. He pulled her back through the streets of Hogsmeade, being careful to avoid Dirty Gertie's corner. One run-in during a lifetime with Gertie was enough, let alone one evening. Hermione didn't understand why they couldn't just apparate back to Hogwarts from the potions shop, but Snape looked as if he had an agenda, so she just let him take her along for the journey. Their new route took them to the back entrance of The Three Broomsticks. Madame Rosemerta was carrying a stack of empty crates to the alley when they approached.

"Why, Severus Snape, it's awfully late on a school night for you to be out and about. What brings you around?" She asked, beaming. Ron had always been taken by her beauty; Hermione silently wondered if Snape had felt the same. She even felt a pang of jealousy when he released her hand and walked forward to exchange niceties with the bar maiden.

"My apprentice and I were out on an ingredient run, so to speak. It seems we were missing some important elements to a potion we needed to brew, but now we've accomplished our evening's task." He took Rosemerta's hand and gave her a gentlemanly kiss on the tops of her fingers. Although she fully knew it was simply out of courtesy, Hermione still had a feeling similar to a dagger wrenching her in the stomach. She bit her bottom lip and stared at the ground feeling a wee bit uncomfortable. A light breeze stirred the cloak she was currently wrapped in, releasing a slightly spicy scent that reminded her of cloves...it was Snape's scent. Hermione closed her eyes and absorbed as much of it as possible. It was in that instant that she knew, without a doubt, she was developing a full on crush for her Potion's Master. Lost in her own thoughts, she vaguely heard Severus say something along the lines of _"let me ask Miss Granger if she would mind."_ She looked up questioningly upon hearing her own name.

"Miss Granger, we have a few minutes to spare, would you mind having a quick drink before we head back? Madame Rosemerta says it's on the house." Again with that damn smile. If Hermione didn't know any better, she would think that maybe he might be developing a crush on her as well.

"That would be lovely," she said walking forward to join the other two.

Just as she had earlier, Hermione noticed how different the The Three Broomsticks was at night compared to during the days when students would visit. The interior was dark and hazy with pipe smoke. Shifty looking wizards and witches occupied the various booths and bar stools, laughing and talking loudly. Two aged looking men were perched in a poorly lit corner playing a wild game of wizard's chest. With every move that was made, there were alternating cheers and hisses. All in all, everyone seemed to be having a rather good time. She followed Snape to small table tucked near the back of the bar that was actually somewhat well lit by a lantern nailed to the wall. Rosmerta tapped on the table with her wand and produced to empty cups.

"What'll you drink, loves?" She asked in a surly tone. "Remember, it's on the house!"

"I'll just have the usual," Snape said rubbing his chin.

"Firewhiskey it is...and you love? What'd you fancy this evenin'?"

"Oh, I suppose I will just have a cup of tea." Hermione felt ridiculously out of place in this setting. She never really drank anything stronger that a butterbeer in her life and she really didn't think it would be a good idea to tempt the fates tonight.

"Right. Enjoy!" Rosemerta tapped each cup, filling one with firewhiskey, and the other with a nice Earl Grey. "If ya be needin' any refills, you know where to find me." She winked and made her way to a rowdy table across the room, leaving Severus and Hermione sitting face to face with their drinks. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Hermione decided to open up the floor for conversation.

"So, do you suppose we will be able to work on the potion tonight?"

"I don't see why not. Luckily, this is a rather quick potion to brew. It takes two weeks to reach maximum strength, however...but the actual brewing process takes no more than half an hour. The rest of the time it just sits on the shelf fermenting." He ran his fingers along the edge of his cup and then took another swig.

"What all does it involve?" She prodded further, desperate to keep the ball rolling. Nothing was worse than sitting in across from someone with nothing to talk about.

"A little over eager to get started, are we Miss Granger?" He raised an eyebrow and took another swallow. Snape normally didn't drink his firewhiskey with such fervor, but tonight his gut was telling him to go with some liquid courage.

"No. I was just curious," she muttered sheepishly, staring into her tea. She had so many thoughts racing through her brain and she wasn't quite sure which ones she should let out. "Back at the shop, you referred to me as your apprentice, but never mentioned that I was mostly your student. Why is that?" She sipped gingerly from her tea cup.

Snape didn't answer immediately, instead he took another long pull from his glass, draining it. After a moment of mental reflection, he felt he knew how to best answer her question.

"Actually, you **are** _mostly_ my apprentice, now. The way I see it, you will spend most of your time and do most of your work for me as my apprentice...not my student." Snape fiddled with his empty firewhisky glass, wishing it were suddenly full again. "Miss Granger...I..."

He stopped himself. He couldn't decided if he needed another firewhiskey or if he should just rethink his words. Choosing the right verbiage was crucial in a situation such as this.

"Yes?" Hermione looked him directly in the eye for the first time all evening. She saw something there that both frightened her and touched her all at the same time. There was no question that the man sitting across from her was a tortured individual. He'd seen things she could never imagine and hopefully never would. This was a man who had learned that trust was overrated, but begged that she put all of hers in him. There was no way to tell what was on his mind, he was so guarded, but Hermione thought she had a pretty good idea.

"I... I think..." he broke eye contact. "I think I need another firewhiskey." He raised his wand and shot red sparks in the air in order to get Madame Rosemerta's attention. Hermione found the gesture to be quite rude, but Rosemerta seemed relatively unfazed by it.

"Another firewhiskey, love?" She saw him nod. "Comin' right up!" With another tap, his glass was instantly refilled, and the bar maiden returned to the rowdy table.

Hermione watched Severus nurse the cup in his hand. He was brooding, and though she had ideas, she wasn't certain if she knew everything there was to know. Furthermore, she couldn't understand how he could drink something so strong as firewhiskey. As usual, curiosity got the best of her.

"What does that taste like?" She said pointing to his cup.

"This?" A smile graced his features. "Why don't you tell me?" He handed her his cup and nodded his head in encouragement. Hermione took it from his a little reluctantly and sniffed it. It smelled faintly of cinnamon. She slowly brought the cup to her lips and tipped it just enough to wet the inside of her mouth for a taste.

"You have to _drink it_, Hermione," he said pushing the cup at a steeper angle so more poured in her mouth. The cinnamon taste burned her mouth and set fire to her throat. It was hard to swallow, almost as if it had edges. She squinched her eyes closed to keep them from watering, but it didn't help. Once she had regained her breath, she coughed and sputtered like a person who had just been rescued from drowning. She was getting ready to open her mouth to scream at him, until she saw the laughter glowing off of him from across the table. It was infectious, because she couldn't stop laughing in spite of herself.

"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me," Snape muttered under his breath. "So, what does it taste like, Miss Granger?"

She smacked her lips a few times and tilted her head back in reflection.

"Actually, it's not so bad...once you get past the initial shock, of course." She reached for his cup again and took another healthy swig. Again, she scrunched up her face as she swallowed hard. She couldn't understand how a liquid could feel so sharp going down. "I can see how someone might get hooked on something like this." Her voice, robbed by the alcohol, sounded like an elaborate stage whisper. Heat began to creep into her cheeks, causing them blush ever so slightly. "But I think I'll stick to butterbeer when it comes to choosing my favorite libation, thank you very much." She wriggled her nose and smirked.

She pushed the cup back toward him. When he reached to retreive it from her, their hands brushed against each other in the exchance. Hermione observed how he became flustered at the contact, leaving her no doubt as to why he quickly downed the remaining contents of his cup.

"It's getting late," Snape said, getting to his feet. "We should head back now if we're to brew this potion tonight. Have you finished your tea?"

The teacup was half-full, but Hermione was done with it. It had gone a bit cold and she was also anxious to get moving. The two left the table simultaneously and waved to Madame Rosemerta as they trailed to the rear exit. Once outside, Snape took her hand in his again, and gave her instructions.

"Remember, we are to apparate outside the gates of Hogwarts. Any attempt to apparate within the gates will result in a most uncomfortable splinching, for certain. Are you ready?"

Hermione nodded. "I'm ready. One...two...thr.." and suddenly she was swirling through blackness, vaguely aware of the man next to her. She closed her eyes, begging for the journey to end soon, and within a split second, she opened them and realized she was back at Hogwarts.

Without a word, Snape released her hand and opened the gates. He followed her back to the castle, most likely in attempt to guard her. When they arrived in the dungeons, Hermione removed the cloak and carefuly laid it over the back of Snape's desk chair. A check of her watch said it was 9:47. She hadn't realized that they had been gone for so long. She hoped Snape was serious when he said that the potion would only take around a half an hour to brew, because she really wanted to be in bed by 10:30. (Of course, she didn't tell him this, for fear that he might chastise her for being little miss perfect. _Early to bed...early to rise..._and all that.) It turned out, however, that he was absolutely correct, because the total brewing time took almost thirty minutes on the nose. She helped him clean up the lab area and store the covered cauldrons on the top shelf for their two week fermentation. Another quick glance at her watch told her that it was 10:23. She washed her hands and asked if there was anything else he needed her to attend to before she headed back up to Gryffindor tower.

"No, I think we've done quite well for ourselves tonight. Time will only tell if the potion is going to turn out as we had planned, however, I have a good feeling that it will turn out just fine." He brushed his hands on his robes and approached her. "I would appreciate it if you didn't let anyone in on our little _outing _tonight. I'm not sure many people would view my taking you to a bar in such a great light."

"Professor, it's not like I've never been to The Three Broomsticks before. I go everytime there's a weekend in Hogsmeade. Harry, Ron, and I were planning to go this weekend, in fact."

"I realize that, Miss Granger, but going in the daytime among friends is one thing...accompanying your professor late in the evening is quite another." Placing both hand on her shoulders, he looked down his nose at her and smirked. "Can I trust you not to say anything?"

There was that word again: Trust. It was basically the entire premise that surrounded their strange relationship. She was to lay her trust completely in him...and now he was asking if he could trust her in return. She nodded.

"I won't say anything to anyone." She turned on her heel to leave and then looked back over her shoulder and added, "I also won't mention how much you like holding my hand." His mouth practically dropped to the floor. She waited for him to argue, but when he didn't, she knew her suspicions about him may have been right after all. With a self serving giggle she ascended the stairs, leaving Snape standing alone...and speechless.

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_Well...what d'ya know? She's calling his bluff. Good Granger...gooood. _

_A Big "Thanks" goes out to all those who voted what should happen next. I was really hoping you all would want them to go out for a drink, because I really had a good time writing that chapter. (Don't know if you noticed, but it's pretty much twice as long as the others.) Also, thanks to all of you who shared your Christmas disaster stories...made me feel a lot better about what happened to me! (Nice to know, everything is all cleaned up and squared away now...phew!) As for my other fic, still not ready yet, but it will be and HGSS fic, just a heck of a lot different than this one. Enough for now, please Review, Review, Review! Until next time, I respectfully submit this chapter as your TelevisionDiva :)_


	16. Chapter 16 Doppleganger

_Disclaimer: I DO NOT own these characters, nor do I claim to. They are the property of JKR. I'm just using them for my own hysterical fantasy world._

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Hermione walked back to her dormitory that night feeling quite assured of herself. She had called the man's bluff. Oh sure, it was at great risk, for certain. But she had done it. In the wizarding world she was now considered a full adult witch, but tonight is the first time she really felt like it. She had put herself closer to equal level with Severus Snape than she ever thought would have been possible. She could feel him watching her walk away. No doubt making sure she made it back to Gryffindor common room safely. She liked that he was watching her walk away. It gave her a small sense of empowerment over the elusive man. 

The staircase to Gryffindor slowly came into view, and Hermione could feel herself start to come down from her high. Her eyes were heavy, and she long for her bed. Keeping a schedule like this was going to be difficult, but she knew the benefits of such an apprenticeship far outweighed her need for sleep. At long last, the portrait of the pink cheeked, fat lady was before her.

"You're up late, young lady!" The fat lady sniffed.

"Oh, just working late on a potions lesson, ma'am," Hermione said sheepishly. "I am quite tired now, though."

"Well, give us the password then."

Just as Hermione opened her mouth to utter the secret word, she heard a strangely familiar voice loudly whisper, "Stupefy!" There was a jet of bright red light and then blackness.

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When she started to come to, Hermione realized she was in her own chambers. However, she was not quite sure how or when she had arrived there. The moonlight was streaking through the thick curtains hanging over the window by her bed. Whatever time it was, it was still dark. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a figure coming toward her from the washroom. The shape and stature seemed oddly well-known to her. It was definitely a person, and furthermore, it was a person she knew quite well.

The person, a girl, sat on the corner of the bed, inches away from Hermione. She sighed heavily and looked at Hermione. The "familiar" stranger spoke.

"I was beginning to think you'd never come to."

She leaned forward closer to Hermione, her face slowly being uncovered by the moonlight. Hermione let out a horrifying scream when she realized the face looking down at her...was her own. Instantly, the girl slapped her hand across Hermione's mouth attempting to stifle the scream.

"If you scream, I'll have no other choice but to stupefy you again," the intruder whispered sharply in Hermione's ear.

Terrified, Hermione silenced herself. _What was going on? Who was in her room? What did she want with her? Why was all of this happening?"_ Hermione searched her mind for possible suspects, but came up with none. She had not hurt anyone, nor had she very many enemies within Hogwarts. One thing was for certain, though. Whoever this was, they must have been behind the attack in the dungeons. Hermione had to know...she just _had_ to.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Hermione asked hesitantly. "In the dungeons. You cursed me from behind."

"They always said you were a clever witch," the doppleganger laughed menacingly. "Of course, it was me. But then, who am I?" She leaned forward and touched Hermione's cheek with a sharp fingernail. "I am you, am I not?"

"You are _not_ me!" Hermione yelled horrified. Tears were beginning to prick up beneath her eyes. "You could _never_ be me!" She jumped out of her bed and tried to make a run for the door, but the girl stuck a foot out and tripped her. Hermione fell hard to floor, smacking her mouth. A single tooth bounced across the stone. A steady stream of blood dribbled down Hermione's lips. Sheer terror filled her entire being. Instinctively, she brought her hand to her mouth and saw that it came away covered in warm, crimson fluid. The doppleganger grabbed her by the hair and drug her across the floor, through her own puddle of blood.

"Thought you could run from me? Thought you could make a break for it? Think again, missy. I am your superior!" The dominator screamed.

Hermione look up into her mirror image's eyes and thought she saw a small hint of green flash behind a copy of her own brown doe eyes.

"F...Fiona?"

The girl got down on her hands and knees and stared Hermione in the face. "The name's Hermione. Hermione Granger." She pulled out her wand a pointed it at Hermione's throat and muttered, "_vox vocis corripio_."

Hermione felt an odd tingling sensation in her neck. It vibrated for several seconds and then stopped.

"What...what was that?" She asked, her words saturated in fear.

"I've stolen a copy of your voice." As the words came out of Fiona's mouth, they sounded as if Hermione had been speaking them herself. "Now no one will know the difference."

She reached down and grabbed a clump of Hermione's hair again and yanked her into the dark washroom. She waved her wand and flicked the lights on. She conjured an unbreakable rope and tied Hermione's arms and legs to the towel bar.

"There, that should keep you in one place for a while." The new Hermione gave herself a satisfying peek at the mirror. "I like books! I like to study. Hi Harry! Hullo Ron!" She tossed her head back and giggled insanely. Muttering "nox", Fiona extinguished the lights in the bathrooom, walked out, and locked the door, leaving Hermione alone...confused...and terrified.

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_vox vocis: voice  
corripio: to steal  
_

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_ Okay, Okay, OKAY! I know...it's been almost TWO YEARS! However, I have an excuse. I went through job turbulance AND a divorce. YUP. A divorce!!!! I'm FREEEEEEEEEE. Plus, Fiona just would NOT cooperate. The little vixen. So, sorry for the cliffie again, but I need to get something posted. Oh and BTW, did any of you notice yet that I'm a HUGE Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan? You should be able to see some of my "inspirations" throughout this story! So, anway, as always...please read and review. I still remain, your TelevisionDiva. :) (Thanks for hanging with me all this time!)_

_OH! BTW, Ryu-Vampiress made this lovely peice of art for Chapter 15- I wanna hold your hand. Check it out! (Remove the spaces and...well, you know the drill.)  
(http://) (ryu-vampiress).(deviantart).(com) (/art/I-Wanna-Hold-Your-Hand-57817369) _

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	17. Chapter 17 Caught in the Act

_Disclaimer: I DO NOT own these characters, nor do I claim to. They are the property of JKR. I'm just using them for my own hysterical fantasy world. (well I own ALL of Fiona :)_

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**Chapter 17 - Caught in the Act**

Just before she finished placing the silencing charm outside the bathroom door, Fiona whispered through the cracks.

"You know I didn't have to do this. You could have just met me like I asked you. Instead you spent all of your time with him."

Hermione sobbed behind the door, but was suddenly silenced as the charm took it's hold.

Fiona realized she needn't be in any particular hurry. This was, of course, her room now. She strolled over to Hermione's tall wardrobe and flung it open. She dragged her fingertip across the row of carefully hung robes. Such details, she thought to herself. Her entire life seems to be spent on such stupid little details. She selected a particularly boring set of robes and threw them onto a nearby chair, closed the wardrobe doors...and then on second thought, swung them back open. There was no sense in being super tidy. It's not like Hermione had any visitors. Boys are not allowed into the girls dormitory, and as far as Fiona knew, Hermione's only friends were that insufferable Potter boy and his equally ridiculous sidekick Weasely. Fiona wondered if Hermione had any real female friends at all. What a pitiful existence she lead for such a brilliant witch. The thoughts only infuriated Fiona further. If she had just a small inkling of Hermione's power, she would have done much more with it. Such talent...wasted...but then, not anymore.

She removed the old robes she was wearing, also Hermione's, that she had put on before the girl arrived back to Gryffindor Tower. They were splattered with little specks of blood from Hermione's mouth smacking the floor. Blood of any sort on her robes was bound to draw too many questions, so it was best to change them. She carefully slid into the set of robes she threw onto the chair earlier. Catching a glimpse of herself in the antique claw-foot mirror, she smoothed the robes carefully over herself, trying to the resemble the absolute perfection Hermione always endowed before entering a room. Again she thought, such details...pitiful, pitiful details. In the distance, Fiona saw the glow of orange and pink, signaling that moment when the sun would rise above the castle. It was almost dawn. It was nearly showtime.

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The Great Hall clamored with the sounds of various Hogwarts students preparing themselves for breakfast. Fiona spotted two familiar faces and set off to start her new game. The boy with the glasses didn't see her at first, but the red-head spotted her immediately.

"Where were you this morning 'Mione? We waited for you in the Gryffindor common room for nearly 10 minutes?" Ron gaped at her.

"Oh, sorry. I just was a little distracted this morning. I must have forgotten." She thought for a moment,trying her best to sound convincing. "But no matter, we're all here together now! Let's eat!"

"Well I say it's Snape that's got you distracted." Ron grumbled. "Stupid git has you in detention too much. I have half a mine to hex that greasy bastard."

Harry pat Ron on the back. "C'mon mate, I say we just forget about it for now and get something to eat." With a sideways glance Harry winked at 'Hermione'.

Fiona bristled a bit when he winked at her. What did it mean? He couldn't possibly...well of course not. How could he? It must have meant something entirely different. Only Merlin knows what.

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They finished breakfast without incident. She noticed that they pretty much paid her no mind as it was. The boys mostly just talked about quidditch and discussing ridiculously boring strategies for their next game. This fitting in business was going to be much easier than she originally thought.

Fiona reached into Hermione's knapsack and fished out the neatly written daily schedule. She decided that it would probably best to stick it, so that no one would wonder about Hermione's whereabouts. _Damn!_ There was no Potions class on today's schedule. Hermione clearly has some sort of an _in_ with Snape, and Fiona needed to find out why. Her mission was clear, but Snape was getting in the way. Irritated, she stuffed the scheduled back into the satchel.

"What's got your knickers in a twist?" Ron piped up.

"Oh. It's a...it's nothing. I just realized I have a lot to do today and just not enough time is all." She slung the heavy bag over her shoulder and headed off toward her first mundane task of the day.

"I swear that girl is mental sometimes," Ron muttered under his breath as she glided out of view.

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Fiona was nearly bored to tears when her academic day came to an end. She couldn't understand how anyone could possibly sit through an entire day of Runes, Arithmancy, and History of Magic without losing their minds. She was clearly going to have to get to the bottom of things before she died of shear boredom. To top things off, her feet were killing her. This ruddy schedule had her moving very quickly from one side of the tower to the other multiple times. This Granger, must be some sort of marathon runner. She could feel the polyjuice potion beginning to wear thin. She looked down at her hands and saw Hermione's long slender fingers begin to shrink and resemble her own short hands. She pulled a strand of her hair into view, and saw the mousy brown start to bleed red. Panic filled her. What if someone saw?

Fiona quickly fell to her knees and began digging through her bag. She located the small bottle and without hesitation, pressed it to her lips, draining it. She watched has her hands began to lengthen again and her hair faded back to brown. She tossed the empty bottle back into the bag and headed toward the dungeons. She was going to need more ingredients for polyjuice potion, since she had just downed the last portion of it. She sincerely hoped the classroom was re-stocked with boomslang skin. The small bit she nicked last week was already used up. Dinner had already begun in the Great Hall, so she was pretty sure there would be little of chance of running into someone down here.

She crept around the corner to the Potions classroom and peered inside. Empty. Fabulous! Fiona ran to the storage cabinet and climb up the ladder to other top shelf. _Ah, there it is. _She wrapped her hand around the glass jar and pulled it from the top shelf. Before dismounting the ladder, she realized it wasn't nearly enough. There was only about a quarter of it left. _Damn! Damn! Damn!_ She cursed silently to herself. She was going to have to look elsewhere. She jumped down off the ladder. _Snape's office. _She thought to herself._ Surely there must be some in Snape's office. _She quickly fled down the hall leading to the Professor's office. It was dark, which was a good sign that he was not currently occupying it. She hurried to his desk and rummaged through the drawers. _C'mon, c'mon! It's got to be in here somewhere!! _But there was nothing. She whirled around on her toes and spotted it. At the very top of his bookshelf there was a shiny new jar of boomslang skin. She spied the area carefully, looking for a chair, a stool, _something!_ Why did it ave to be so dark? She decided just to climb the ruddy shelf herself. She could climb trees, so as shelf shouldn't be so hard, right? The ancient bookshelf creaked beneath her weight as she scaled its height one section at a time.

_Creak... _

She froze..._surely it was just the shelf groaning...but it sounded as if...well...like..._

"Looking for something?" A voice behind her drawled.

Fiona looked up, frozen. She had been caught.

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_blah blah blaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh! YES I know, I KNOW. I took forever. Sorry. I will try not to next. Actually, I'm happy to admit, the story finally is taking shape again. Fiona was reallly beginning to piss me off. I think I know what to do with her now, however. And it won't be pretty. So. I'm watching HP: CoS right now on Disney Channel and I'm all plot bunnies and sunshine! Thanks for reading, and remember, review...review...review! It's the only payment I receive! Respectfully Yours, TelevisionDiva._


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